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AUTHOR: 


BULFINCH,  S.  G. 
(STEPHEN  GREENLEAF) 


TITLE: 


STUDIES  IN  THE 

EVIDENCES  OF 

PLACE: 

BOSTON 

DA  TE : 

1869 


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STUDIES 


IN    THE 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIAMTY. 


BT 


STEPHEN  G.  BULFINCH,  D.D., 


( 


AirrnoB  of  "  MANtrAL  of  the  evidencks." 


BOSTON: 

203  "Washington  Street. 
186&. 


Entered,  according^  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

WILLIAM    V.   SPENCER 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetti. 


1 


4 


TO 


JOHN    GORIIAM   PALFREY,  D.D.,  LL.D., 


PASTOR,  THEOLOGIAN.  STATESMAN,  HISTORIAN; 


AND,  IN  ALL  POSITIONS, 


FAITHFUL     TO    FREEDOM    AND     TO    TRUTH^ 


JCfjis  Uolume 


IS   RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED, 


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ONE  OF  HIS  rUPILS. 


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No.  19  Spring  Lane. 


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PREFACE. 


The  brief  "  Manual  of  the  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity," published  in  1866,  was  intended  chiefly  as  a 
class-book.  In  preparing  it,  however,  the  author 
could  not  have  satisfied  himself  or  others,  liad  he  acted 
merely  as  a  compiler.  The  arguments  brought  against 
historical  Christianity  in  our  age  are  very  different  from 
those  which  were  formerly  urged ;  the  attitude  of  its 
opponents  is  more  respectful,  their  theories  are  more 
ingenious,  their  pleas  more  specious,  than  in  former 
times.  Recent  investigation  has  shown  new  means 
of  defence  for  the  truth,  while  it  compels  the  candid 
defender  to  hesitate  before  using  some  that  were  for- 
merly employed.  In  preparing,  therefore,  a  small 
volume  for  the  use  of  Academic  and  Sunday  Classes, 
the  author  felt  it  his  duty  to  go  over  the  whole  ground, 
accepting  no  conclusion  and  repeating  no  argument  of 
previous  writers  without  such  examination  as  should 
convince  his  own  mind  that  no  valid  objection  lay 
against  it. 

The  preparation   of   the   "Manual,"  therefore,   left 

(V) 


Yl 


PREFACE. 


results  which  could  not  be  compressed  within  the  in- 
tended volume.  During  the  three  years  which  have 
since  passed,  the  author  has  devoted  the  leisure  he  could 
command  to  further  researches  in  the  same  direction. 
With  this  fresh  labor  he  has  combined  a  revision  of 
former  studies,  and  of  articles  published  from  time  to 
time  in  the  "  Christian  Examiner "  and  the  "  Monthly 
lieli"-ious  Majxazine."  He  has  endeavored  to  avoid 
repeating  what  lie  had  said  in  the  "  Manual,"  except 
where  this  was  necessary  to  clearness  of  expression.  To 
several  friends,  whose  aid  has  been  kindly  given  to  his 
investigations,  he  returns  his  grateful  acknowledgments. 

It  is  but  just  to  himself  to  state,  that  this  work  was 
far  advanced,  and  the  first  two  or  three  chapters  of  it 
in  the  printer's  hands,  before  he  saw  either  of  the  valu- 
able articles,  by  Dr.  James  Freeman  Clarke,  now  pub- 
lishing in  the  "Atlantic  Monthly  Magazine." 

The  present  work,  though  connected  with  the  former, 
may  be  read  independently  of  it ;  nor  does  it  supersede 
the  other  for  the  purpose  for  which  that  was  designed. 
The  two,  however,  may  most  suitably  be  used  in  suc- 
cession;  the  "Manual"  as  giving  to  the  student  a 
general  view  of  the  subject,  and  this  book  as  investi- 
gating more  fully  those  portions  of  it  which  are,  at  the 
present  time,  of  most  interest  and  importance. 

S.  G.  B. 

Cambbidge,  Mass.,  May,  1869. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAFrKU 

Faob 

Introduction 

.       1 

I 

Religions  other  than  Christian 

25 

Mohammedanism 

.    26 

Brahminism.          ...... 

30 

Buddhism 

.    33 

Confucius 

36 

II. 

Revelation,  Primitive  and  Jewish. 

.    46 

III. 

Greek  and  Roman  Civilization,  .... 

69 

IV. 

Apollonius,  the  Christ  of  Philosophy.    . 

.    73 

V. 

Moral  Evidence  of  Christianity. 

86 

Argument  of  Schleiermacher 

.    96 

VI. 

Attempts  to  alter  or  improve  Christianity. 

.       101 

VII. 

Morraonism 

.  113 

VIII. 

Babism 

.       129 

IX. 

Miracles. 

.  Ul 

D.  F.  Strauss 

.       148 

Theodore  Parker 

.  154 

Ernest  Renan 

.       166 

X. 

Authentication  of  the  Records 

.  175 

XI. 

Manuscripts,  Versions,  Coins,  Monuments. 

.       187 

XII. 

The  First  Three  Gospels 

.  198 

XIII. 

The  Fourth  Gospel. 

.       207 

XIV. 

Baur's  View  of  the  Acts 

.  235 

XV. 

Baur's  View  of  the  Epistles 

.       245 

XVI. 

The  Apocryphal  New  Testament. 

.  254 

XVII. 

The  Old  Testament  Prophecies. 

.       266 

EVIDENCES  OF  CIIRISTIAMTY. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  Christian  religion  has  been,  for  eighteen  hun- 
dred years,  regarded  by  its  adherents  as  of  supernatural 
origin,  —  a  revehition  from  God,  communicated  by 
peculiar  inspiration,  and  attested  by  miracles.  Those 
who  denied  to  it  this  character  have  seldom  professed  to 
be  its  followers  or  its  friends.  At  present  the  case  is 
different.  Christianity,  as  a  supernatural  revelation,  is 
the  object  of  attack,  —  frequent,  bold,  and  ably  con- 
ducted, —  on  the  part  of  persons  who  claim  the  Chris- 
tian name,  and  exercise  the  office  of  Christian  ministers. 

About  forty  years  ago,  controversy  in  New  England 
had  scarcely  ever  touched  the  authority  of  revelation. 
The  community  at  large  entertained  no  doubt  of  the 
divine  mission  and  the  miraculous  credentials  of  Jes?is 
Christ,  however  they  might  be  divided  resjjccting  his 
rank  in  the  universe,  or  the  influence  of  his  death.  Tiie 
theological  student  might  indeed  meet  such  doubt;  it 
came  before  him  in  the  regular  course  of  his  studies ;  he 

1  (1) 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


looked  over,  with  little  interest,  a  few  of  the  old  Eng- 
lish Deists,  and  with  more  attention  examined  the  argu- 
ments of  Hume ;  but  the  standard  replies  removed  his 
fears  lest  the  foundations  of  his  faith  should  be  unsound  ; 
and  so  the  subject  was  dismissed,  and  the  mind  turned 
willingly  to  themes  that  were  occupying  public  atten- 
tion. Very  different  is  the  state  of  opinion  and  feeling 
now.  The  topics  that  were  then  chiefly  discussed  ex- 
cite but  little  interest ;  not  because  they  are  unimportant 
in  themselves,  but  because  the  arguments  on  both  sides 
have  been  so  often  and  so  fully  presented.  The  doubts 
of  the  present  day  relate  to  the  authority  of  Christianity 
itself. 

To  many,  however,  these  doubts  appear  of  small  im- 
portance. Religion,  they  say,  has  its  true  place  in  the 
heart,  not  in  the  understanding.  Those  among  us  who 
deny  the  especial  divine  mission  of  Jesus  Christ  yet  own 
him  to  be  the  best  of  teachers,  and  ascribe  to  him  an 
inspiration,  superior  in  degree,  though  similar  in  kind, 
to  that  which  has  been  shared  by  all  great  minds,  — by 
Moses  and  Socrates,  by  Homer  and  Shakspeare.  Truth 
cannot  be  more  true  because  it  comes  from  the  lips  of 
Jesus ;  and  if  we  receive  the  truth  with  love  and  obedi- 
ence, it  will  matter  little  whether  we  admit  all  the  claims 
that  are  made  for  him  who  brings  it.  By  such  argu- 
ments as  these,  many  who  reverence  the  Savior  are 
deluded  into  thinking  that  there  is  really  no  important 
difference  between  belief  in  him  and  rejection  of  his 
claims.  They  do  not  consider  that  there  may  be  truths 
which  are  not  self-evident,  but  revealed  from  heaven  by 
an  authoritative  messenger,  and  that  the  veracity  and  the 
whole  moral  character  of  the  Savior  are  implicated  in 


INTRODUCTORY.  3 

the  correctness  of  his  assertions  respecting  his  own  com- 
mission. 

We  would  be  far  from  denying  the  morid  excellence 
of  many  who  reject  supernatural   Christianity.     None 
can  doubt  their  sincerity  and  their  courage.     They  often 
exhibit  in  their  conduct  the  influence   of  the  religion 
whose  holy  lessons  they  learned  in  childhood.     But°the 
dangerous  inHuence  of  the  opinions  they  hold,  though 
thus  neutralized  in  them,  will  show  itself,  we  fear,  hi 
another  generation,  educated  in  a  Christianity  which  has 
been  deprived   of  its   authority.     Already   we  find,  as 
might  be  expected,  among  those  who  hold  these  views, 
an  indifference  to  public  worship  and  disuse  of  Christian 
ordinances.     It  is   intimated   too,  that,  however  great 
the  benefits  conferred  on  the  world  by  Jesus,  the  honor 
now  paid  to  him  interferes  witli  the  freedom  of  the  mind 
and  the  progress  of  truth  ;  and  that  it  were  well   that 
his  name,  like  the  names  of  other  great  teachers  of  the 
past,  should  cease  to  be  prominently  brought  forward. 
But  in   our  own  view  it  is  the  person  of  Christ,  the 
manifestation  of  divine  holiness  and  love  in  his  charac- 
ter, and  especially  the  exhibition  of  them  in  his  death, 
which  has,  more  than  aught  else,  subjected  to  his  reli- 
gion the  hearts  of  mankind.     A  cold  system  of  i)hiloso- 
phy  can  never  move  the  world.      To  do  this,  requires  an 
object  that  can  engage  our  affections.     Such  an  ol)ject  — 
a  Mediator,  an  image  of  the  FatJier's  moral  perfection  — 
IS  more  than  ever  necessary  to  us  now,  under  the  ten- 
dency of  modern  science  to  substitute  the  conception  of 
the  laws  of  nature  for  the  idea  of  a  personal  God.     We 
will  not  enlarge,  however,  on  the  serious  consequences 
to  public  morals  which  may  be  anticipated  from  the  prev- 


*  EVIDENCES   OP  CHRISTIANITV. 

alcncc  of  the  opinions  to  wliicli  we  refer.  If  tliose 
opinions  arc  true,  our  fears  are  vain  :  let  the  trutli  pre- 
vail, an.l  it  will  vintlicate  itself.  -We  ol.jcct  not  to  the 
zeal  with  which  such  views  arc  advanced  by  those  who 
sincerely  believe  them ;  but  wc  who  re-ard  them  as  un- 
true cannot  but  consider  tiioiii  as  also  morally  dangerous. 
If  God  has  indeed  given  us  a  revelation,  it  must  have 
been  because  a  revelation  was  needed  ;  and  the  treasure 
which  wc  thus  possess  we  feel  bound  to  defend,  by 
whatever  arguments  wc  can  fairly  employ,  and  thus  to 
do  our  part  for  its  transmission  unimpaired  to  those 
who  shall  come  after  us. 

To  understand  the  present  state  of  the  controversy 
with  regard  to  the  claims  of  Christianity,  it  is  necessary 
to  look  into  the  history  of  the  past.  For  this  purpose 
we  must  first  extend  a  glance  beyond  tiie  Atlantic. 

The  country  which,  for  a  century  j.ast,  has  taken  the 
lead  m  philosophical  and  theological  speculation  is  Ger- 
many.    Her  learned  men,   patient  and  laborious,  ex- 
ajmne  deeply  whatever  subject  engages  their  attention. 
The  peculiar  constitution  of  the  country  has  produced  a 
singular  combination  of  freedom  in  opinion  with  restraint 
in  regard   to  form.     CJermany  is  so  tolerant  of  new 
opinions  that  it  has  little  occasion  to  be  tolerant  of  new 
sects.     A  man  born  a  Lutheran  remains  a  Lutheran, 
in  regard  to  the  outward  forms  of  the  Church.     But 
80  long  as  he  observes  these  forms,  or  at  least  sets  up 
no  other  in  oj.position  to  them,  he  may  believe,  preach, 
and  write  what  he  pleases,  from  the  hi-hest  Calvinism 
to   the  lowest  Naturalism.     As  the  whole  country  is 
divided  into  numerous  states,  each  governed  by  its  own 
prince,  if  a  scholar  of  eminence  is  out  of  favor  at  one 


INTRODUCIORY.  C 

court  or  university,  he  may  very  probably  find  employ- 
ment and  honor  at  another.  Hence  arises  a  -reat 
variety  of  opinions,  together  with  the  utmost  boldness 
in  expressing  tliein. 

^   The  sceptical  spirit  with  regard  to  the  authority  of 
Christianity,  which  had.  manifested  itself  in  the  Eu-dish 
Deists  and  the  French  Encyclopedists,  made  its  "first 
mai-Kcd  impression  in  Germany  through  the  writin-s  of 
llerniann  Samuel  licimarus,  Professor  of  PhilosonTiy  in 
Hamburg.     In  1754,  three  years  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  "  Encyclopedic  "in  France,  Kcimarus  pub- 
ished   a   woric    on  "The   Principal  Trnths  of  Natural 
i^ohgioii.       This  was  followed  by  the  remarkable  Es- 
says, known  as  the  "  Arolfenblittel  Fragments.'^     Xhev 
were  written  by  P.eimarus,  and  circulated  in  manuserip't 
among  his  friends ;  but  coming  into  the  hands  of  the 
famous  Lessing,  at  that  time  Librarian  at  Wolfonbiittel 
l.e  gave  them  to  the  world  as  "Fragments  of  an  Aiiony' 
mous   AVritcr"   (Fragmente  eines  Ungcnannten),  pi  el 
tending  that  he  had  found  them   in  the  library  under 
his  charge.     The  theory  of  these  Fragments  was,  that 
the  plan  of  Jesus  was  political  in  its  nature,  and  was 
defeated  by  the  Jewish  authorities ;  that  his  disciples 
invented  the  story  of  his  resurrection,  and  modified  his 
systeiu  as  circumstances  required.     The  publication  of 
these  Fragments,  commenced  in  1773,  created  a  strong 
sensation.     Among   the  theologians  of  Germany  who 
rallied  m  defence  of  their  religion,   two  classes  soon 
became   marked.     The  majority  adhered  to  all  which 
tney  liad  been  accustomed  to  receive  and  teach.     Others 
however,  believed  that,  in  order  to  defend  the  csseutial 
truth  of  religion,  it  was  necessary  to  distinguish  it,  by 


^::^ 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


>t 


a  careful  and  independent  criticism,  from  all  which 
was  justly  liable  to  the  attacks  of  the  new  infidelity. 
Hence  came  the  movement  to  which  the  name  of  Ra- 
tionalism is  most  distinctly  given.  It  was  an  attempt 
to  apply  the  principles  of  reason  to  the  inter[)retation  of 
Scripture,  —  a  worthy  purpose,  for  true  reason  and  a 
true  revelation  can  never  contradict  each  other.  If,  in 
the  prosecution  of  that  purpose,  many  were  led  to  aban- 
don important  truth,  this  result  should  not  render  us  in- 
sensible to  the  aid  which  biblical  criticism  has  derived 
from  tlie  labors  of  those  eminent  theologians  by  whom 
it  was  undertiiken. 

Prominent  among  these  were  Sender,  Michaelis,  and 
Eichhorn.  By  the  last,  especially,  the  attempt  was  made 
to  explain  the  Old  Testament  and  some  portions  of  the 
New  on  the  principle  of  mythical  interpretation.  This 
is  nothing  else  than  the  idea,  to  some  extent  correct, 
that  the  narratives  which  we  meet  are  to  be  understood, 
not  as  literally  true,  but  as  expressing  what  was  believed 
at  the  time  when  they  were  written.  A  myth,  or 
mythic  story,  is  a  narrative,  either  conveying  truth  in  the 
form  of  lable,  or,  more  usually,  conveying  some  portion 
of  original  truth  adorned  and  magnified  by  the  additions 
it  has  received  from  the  successive  persons  who  have  re- 
lated it,  one  to  another,  until  it  reached  the  historian 
who  committed  it  to  writing.  The  earliest  part  of  the 
Bible,  especially,  was  thought  to  possess  this  character. 
The  story  of  Adam  and  Eve,  in  their  temptation,  fall, 
and  expulsion  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  was  explained, 
not  unnaturally,  to  be  a  mythic  or  figurative  account  of 
the  process  by  which  man  —  whether  it  be  the  individual 
or  the  race  —  loses  the  happiness  of  innocence.     The 


account  of  the  building  of  the  Tower  of  Babel,  and  the 
consequent  dispersion  of  mankind,  was  regarded  as  a  myth 
of  a  dilferent  description,  the  narrative  of  a  real  event, 
but  magnified  and  adorned  with  supernatural  incidents, 
from  the  imagination  of  successive  relaters  of  the  story. 

This  mythic  system  of  interpretation  was  by  many 
writers  used  in  a  reverent  spirit,  and  without  a  denial 
of  the  especial  divine  commission  and  miraculous  works 
of  the  Savior.  The  sceptical  tendency,  however,  which 
was  first  indicated  and  encouraged  by  the  writings  of 
Reimarus,  continued  to  develop  itself,  and  employed 
against  Christianity  a  method  of  criticism  which  was  but 
a  bolder  application  of  that  which  had  been  used  in  its 
explanation  and  defence.  The  disposition  to  undervalue, 
and  ultimately  to  reject  the  miracles,  derived  strength 
also  from  the  rise  of  a  system  of  philosophy  which  sought 
for  the  evidence  of  truth  only  within  the  soul. 

This  system,  the  Transcendental,  introduced  by  Im- 
manuel  Kant,  presents  a  subject  too  vast  for  more  than 
a  superficial  view.  We  can  best  describe  it  to  the  gen- 
eral reader  by  saying  that  it  teaches  us  to  look  to  the 
instincts  of  our  nature.  Bacon  and  Locke  had  taujxht 
the  world  to  seek  truth  by  looking  around ;  Kant  and 
his  followers  sought  it  by  looking  within.  The  disciples 
of  the  former  busied  themselves  in  collecting  evidence, 
com[)aring  known  fiicts,  and  reasoning  out  truth  from 
these ;  the  latter  watched  the  utterance  of  the  individual 
consciousness,  and  deduced  thence  their  philosophy.  In- 
nate ideas,  intuitive  knowledge,  these  were  the  basis  of 
the  new  system.  Kant  compared  his  metliod  to  that 
of  Copernicus,  who,  dissatisfied  with  the  attempts  of 
his  predecessors  to  explain  the  motions  of  the  heaver  Jy 


8 


EVIDENCES  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


INTIiODUCTORY. 


9 


.bodies,  sought  instead  to  understand  liis  own,  and,  in 
learning  that  he  moved  round  the  sun,  found  the  key  to 
the  exphmation  of  all  other  motion.  Thus  from  the 
study  of  the  luunan  mind  itself  did  Kant  derive  the 
knowledge  of  the  universe.  A  bejuitiful  instance  of  this 
is  found  in  his  second  irreat  work,  the  "Investigation  of 
the  Practical  Keason  "  (  Kritik  dcr  i)raktischen  Vernunft) , 
where,  from  man's  consciousness  of  a  moral  law,  he 
proves  fu-st  the  freedom  of  the  will ;  then  the  existence 
of  a  moral  world,  a  perfection  unattainable  in  time,  and 
therefore  implying  and  proving  eternal  life  ;  and  lastly, 
the  exL-^tence  of  the  perfect  liuler  of  this  perfect  world,  the 
INIoral  Ciovernor  and  God  of  all.  Kant's  own  character 
was  pure  and  noble,  his  life  of  eii^hty  years  was  rich  in 
works  of  benevolence,  and  his  death  marked  by  fortitude 
and  submission.  "I  do  not  fear  death,"  he  said,  "for  I 
know  how  to  die.  1  assure  you  that  if  I  knew  this 
night  was  to  be  my  last,  I  would  raise  my  hands  and 
say,  'God  be  praised  !'  The  case  would  be  far  differ- 
ent if  1  had  ever  caused  the  misery  of  any  of  his  crea- 
tures." 

The  system  introduced  by  this  great  philosopher  drew 
attention  to  a  class  of  truths  which  had  not  received  suf- 
ficient regard  from  previous  modern  writers.  We  re- 
cognize something  noble,  true,  and  divine  in  the  thought 
that  the  seemingly  spontaneous  utterance  of  man's  heart 
is  from  the  source  of  all  truth,  —  that  every  human 
being  is  in  some  degree  inspired.  Yet  we  cannot  but 
perceive  that  this  conception,  if  taken  too  unrestrict- 
edly, is  capable  of  leading  to  false  and  dangerous  in- 
ferences. It  is  a  possible  thing  to  mistake  the  dictate 
of  passion  which  ought  to  be  restrained,  for  that  pure 


impulse  which  ought  to  be  obeyed ;  and  he  who  makes 
it  his  rule  to  "  act  up  to  his  nature,"  and  look  within  him 
for  his  only  guide,  may  find  himself  obeying  that  evil 
"law  of  his  members"  which  wars  against  the  "law  of 
his  spirit."     But  the  tendency  of  the  Transcendental  phi- 
losophy with  which  we  have  now  chiefly  to  do  is   that 
which  relates  to  a  miraculous  revelation.     JMany,  indeed, 
who  hold  that  philosophy  are  believers,  not  only  in  his- 
torical Christianity,  but  in  what  is  called  its  Orthodox 
form ;  but  with  many  otliers  the  influence  of  this  sys- 
tem has  produced   a  different  result.     To  such  it  has 
suggested  thoughts  like  these :  If  truth  be  innate  in  the 
soul,  what  need  is  there  of  a  revelation  to  connnunicate 
it?     If  truth  be  discernible  at  first  sight,  what  need  of 
miracles  to  prove  it?     It  was  the  obvious  tendency  of 
Transcendentalism  to  disparage  and  treat  as  unimj^ortant 
all    outward  evidence.     Many  of  the   writers  of  that 
school  did  not  so  much  deny  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
miracles  as  their  value  for  purposes  of  proof,  declaring 
that  the  intrinsic  beauty  and  excellence  of  the  religion 
were  proof  enough  for  them,  and  that  miracles  could 
add  nothing  to  the  strength  of  their  belief. 

The  great  thoughts  of  Kant  became  the  inspiration 
for  a  host  of  writers.  The  poet  Schiller  compared  him 
to  a  single  rich  man  feeding  numerous  beggars ;  to  a 
king  whose  buildings  give  employment  to  an  army  of 
laborers.  Yet  among  the  successors  of  Kant  were 
men  whose  ability  and  whose  fame  appear  second  only 
to  his.  Such  were  Fichte,  Schelling,  and  Hegel,  in 
the  last  of  whom  philosophy  seemed  to  many  to 
reach  its  greatest  height  of  sublimity,  to  otiiers  its 
lowest  depth  of  absurdity.     The  views  of  Ilegel  tended 


10 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRTSTIANITr. 


INTEODUCTORY. 


11 


t      I 


towards  Pantheism,  which  confuses  the  Divine  Being 
with  the  universe  which  he  created.  According  to  tliis 
writer,  the  Divine  Being  is  everywhere  present  in  na- 
ture, but  comes  to  consciousness  of  liimself  only  in  man. 
To  us  this  statement  seems  incompatible  with  the  infinity 
of  God,  and  even  with  his  personal  existence  as  dis- 
tinct from  his  works.  Many  of  the  disciples  of  this 
philosopher,  however,  understood  it  differently.  Some 
of  them  were  zealous  defenders  of  the  orthodox  system, 
and  in  the  idea  of  God's  comin2:  to  self-consciousness  in 

CD 

man  they  recognized  the  Church  doctrine  of  the  Divine 
Incarnation  in  Christ.  Hegel  himself  regarded  his  sys- 
tem as  reconciling  philosophy  with  the  Christian  reli- 
gion and  its  established  institutions  ;  and  one  of  his 
later  public  addresses  was  a  eulogy  on  the  principles  of 
the  Lutheran  Church,  as  embodied  in  the  Augsburg 
Confession.  Very  different  was  the  course  of  Schopen- 
hauer, another  disciple  of  Kant,  whose  philosophic  wan- 
derings found  their  close  in  the  dreary  regions  of  Athe- 
ism and  Pessimism. 

Contemporaneous  with  Hegel  was  the  celebrated  and 
excellent  Schleiermacher,  who  was  born  in  17G8,  and 
died  in  1834.  In  1709  he  published  his  "Discourses  on 
Religion,  addressed  to  the  Cultivated  among  its  Con- 
temners." With  this  work  conunenccd  a  better  day  for 
the  religious  life  of  Germany.  Schleicrmaclicr  recog- 
nizes, as  essential  to  a  true  religious  philosophy,  a  per- 
sonal experience  of  the  need  and  value  of  religion. 
The  soul  then  realizes  a  consciousness  of  its  own  im- 
mortal nature,  and  of  its  dependence  upon  God.  Ther 
from  the  same  Christian  consciousness  are  developed 
the  great  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith,  the  soul  com- 


I 


ing  into  vital  union  with  the  Savior,  who,  while  one 
with  God,  is  at  the  same  time  the  ideal  of  humanity. 
Thus  by  the  path  of  the  Transcendental  Philosopliy  does 
this  great  teacher  arrive  at  the  same  reverent  and  lovino- 
recognition  of  the  Son  of  God  which  thousands  of  ob"^ 
scure  disciples  have  obtained  by  the  simpler  testimony 
of  the  written  word. 

While  we  must  view  with  respect  the  learning,  ability, 
and  piety  of  Schleiermacher,  we  discern  even  in  him  the 
tendency  of  his  philosophical  system  to  weaken  the  re- 
gard of  its  disciples  for  the  outward,  and  especially  for 
the    supernatural,  evidence    of   the    gospel.     Schleier- 
macher, uideed,  did  not  reject  the  miraculous.     He  ad- 
mitted the  necessity  of  one  miracle,  in  the  introduction 
of  a  new  element  of  purity  and  power  into  the  world  in 
the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  first  of  the  human  race 
to  whom  was  granted  a  full  consciousness  of  the  Divine 
presence.     The  great  change  thus  effected  he  considered 
as  nothing  less  than  a  new  creation.     He  admitted,  too, 
that  the  miraculous  element  cannot  be  removed  from  the 
Gospels  without  throwing  doubt  on  the  whole  connec- 
tion of  their  accounts.     But  from  his  ground,  miracles 
appear,   not  as  proofs   of  Christianity,  but  as  incum- 
brances to  it.  He,  and  many  German  theologians,  yielded 
to  the  tendency  to  undervalue  outward  proof,  because 
they  possessed  a  substitute  which  they  regarded  as  more 
valuable.     It  is  unjust,  therefore,  to  denounce  Transcen- 
dentalism indiscriminately  as  the  denial  of  Christianity  ; 
It  is  enough  to  say  that  it  depreciates  that  species  of 
evidence  on  which  in  preceding  ages  its  defenders  had 
!jhiefly  been  accustomed  to  rest  its  claims. 

The  Transcendental  system,  however,  as  modified  by 


^ 


10 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


INTEODUCTORY. 


11 


towards  Pantheism,  wliicli  confuses  the  Divine  Being 
with  the  universe  whicli  he  created.     According  to  tliis 
writer,  the  Divine  Being  is  everywhere  present  in  na- 
ture, but  comes  to  consciousness  of  himself  only  in  man. 
To  us  this  statement  seems  incompatible  with  the  infinity 
of  God,  and  even  with  his  personal  existence  as  dis- 
tinct from  his  works.     Many  of  the  disciples   of  this 
philosopher,  however,  understood  it  differently.     Some 
of  them  were  zealous  defenders  of  the  orthodox  system, 
and  in  the  idea  of  God's  coming  to  self-consciousness  in 
man  they  recognized  the  Church  doctrine  of  the  Divine 
Incarnation  in  Christ.     Hegel  himself  regarded  his  sys- 
tem as  reconciling  philosophy  with  the  Christian  reli- 
gion   and  its   established  institutions ;    and  one  of  his 
later  public  addresses  was  a  eulogy  on  the  principles  of 
the  Lutheran   Church,  as   embodied  in  the  Augsburg 
Confession.     Very  different  was  the  course  of  Schopen- 
hauer, another  disciple  of  Kant,  whose  philosophic  wan- 
derings found  their  close  in  the  dreary  regions  of  Athe- 
ism and  Pessimism. 

Contemporaneous  with  Ilegel  was  the  celebrated  and 
excellent  Schleiermucher,  who  was  born  in  17G8,  and 
died  in  1831.  In  1709  he  pubHshed  his  "  Discourses  on 
Religion,  addressed  to  the  Cultivated  among  its  Con- 
temners."  With  this  work  commenced  a  better  day  for 
the  religious  life  of  Germany.  Schleiermacher  recog- 
nizes, as  essential  to  a  true  religious  plHlosoi)]iy,  a  per- 
sonal experience  of  the  need  and  value  of  religion. 
The  soul  then  realizes  a  consciousness  of  its  own  im- 
mortal nature,  and  of  its  dependence  upon  God.  Ther 
from  the  same  Christian  consciousness  are  developed 
the  jrreat  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith,  the  soul  com- 


ii 


i.. 


ing  into  vital  union  with  the  Savior,  who,  while  one 
with  God,  is  at  the  same  time  the  ideal  of  humanity. 
Thus  by  the  path  of  the  Transcendental  Philosophy  does 
this  jT^reat  teaclier  arrive  at  the  same  reverent  and  lovins: 
reco2fnition  of  the  Son  of  God  which  thousands  of  ob- 
scure  disciples  have  obtained  by  the  simpler  testimony 
of  the  written  word. 

While  we  must  view  with  respect  the  learning,  ability, 
and  piety  of  Schleiermacher,  we  discern  even  in  him  the 
tendency  of  his  pliiloso[)hical  system  to  weaken  the  re- 
gard of  its  disciples  for  the  outward,  and  especially  for 
the  supernatural,  evidence  of  the  gospel.  Schleier- 
macher, indeed,  did  not  reject  the  miraculous.  He  ad- 
mitted the  necessity  of  one  miracle,  in  the  introduction 
of  a  new  element  of  purity  and  power  into  the  world  in 
the  person  of  Jesus  Clu'ist,  the  first  of  the  human  race 
to  whom  was  granted  a  full  consciousness  of  the  Divine 
presence.  The  great  change  thus  effected  he  considered 
as  nothing  less  than  a  new  creation.  He  admitted,  too, 
that  the  miraculous  element  cannot  be  removed  from  the 
Gospels  without  throwing  doubt  on  the  whole  connec- 
tion of  their  accounts.  But  from  his  ground,  miracles 
appear,  not  as  proofs  of  Christianity,  but  as  incum- 
brances to  it.  He,  and  many  German  theologians,  yielded 
to  the  tendency  to  undervalue  outward  proof,  because 
they  possessed  a  substitute  which  they  regarded  as  more 
valuable.  It  is  unjust,  therefore,  to  denounce  Transcen- 
dentalism indiscriminately  as  the  denial  of  Christianity  ; 
It  is  enough  to  say  that  it  depreciates  that  species  of 
evidence  on  which  in  preceding  ages  its  defenders  had 
chiefly  been  accustomed  to  rest  its  claims. 

The  Transcendental  system,  however,  as  modified  by 


12 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITr. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


13 


h  I. 


If 


Hegel,  involved  consequences,  not  adnntted  indeed  by 
that  philosopher,  hut  which,  in  the  fearles!<  logic  of 
Feuorbiich,  appeared  not  only  as  the  denial  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  as  avowed  Atheism.  Others,  as  Bruno 
Bauer,  denouncing  even  Feuerbach  as  inconsistent, 
found  in  the  depth  of  Atheism  a  lower  deep.  To  use 
the  words  of  an  author,  himself  widely  removed  from 
belief  in  supernatural  Christianity,  "  These  writers  made 
it  their  express  employment  to  daub  with  abuse,  to 
stamp  as  by-words,  to  banish  from  the  actual  world  as 
spectres,  not  religion  alone,  no  !  all  ideal  powers,  what- 
ever names  thcv  miii'ht  bear,  all  moral  ordinances  of  the 
State  as  of  society,  all  love  and  inspiration,  which 
raises  itself  above  the  miserable  first  person  singular." 
(Schwarz,  "Zur  Geschichte  der  neuesten  Theologie," 
page  228.) 

While  writers  of  this  class,  to  follow  the  expression 
of  the  author  just  quoted,  were  placing  the  gravestone 
of  a  great  philosophic  movement  in  IVrlin,  where  Kant 
had  made  its  commencement,  and  while  the  more  moder- 
ate school  of  Schleiermacher  still  reverenced  Christian- 
ity on  the  evidence  of  their  own  hearts,  not  denying  its 
miraculous  character,  but  not  dei)cnding  upon  it,  there 
were  others  who  entirely  rejected  the  supernatural  ele- 
ment, yet  continued  to  bear  the  Christian  name.  There 
were  strong  inducements  to  prevent  them  from  laying  it 
aside. 

They  derived  their  support  from  the  Christian  institu- 
tions of  their  country,  holding  places  of  emolument  as 
pastors  and  professors  of  Divinity.  And  apart  from 
any  sucli  personal  interest,  they  might  irom  higher  mo- 
tives seek  some  middle  way  between  the  old  belief  which 


they  had  abandoned  and  an  attitude  of  hostility  to  that 
religion  which  they  saw  was  the  main  support  of  private 
morals  and  public  order.  The  problem,  tlion,  to  be 
worked  out  was,  how  to  reconcile  a  rejection  of  all  that 
is  miraculous  in  Christianity  with  the  retention  of  the 
Christian  name. 

Various  were  the  methods  adopted  to  achieve  this  dif- 
ficult undertaking.  Dr.  Paulus,  in  his  "Commentary 
on  the  New  Testament,"  and  his  "Life  of  Jesus,"  the 
latter  work  published  in  1828,  attempted  to  explain 
every  miracle  in  such  a  manner  as  at  once  to  preserve 
the  veracity  of  the  Gospels,  and  do  away  with  every- 
thing supernatural.  Thus,  in  Matthew  xvii.  27,  he 
represents  that  Peter  was  directed  to  catch  a  fish  and  sell 
it,  as  the  means  of  procuring  the  needed  money.  Other 
writers  brought  to  the  connnon  cause  the  suggestion  that 
Jesus  had  some  coadjutors,  unknown  to  the  apostles  and 
n^angclists,  and  by  whose  aid  lie  performed  these  appar- 
ent miracles.  Others  more  prudently  attempted  no  ex- 
planation, contenting  themselves  with  preaching  on  the 
moral  lessons  of  the  gospel,  and  passing  over  in  silence, 
or  treating  as  allegory  whatever  they  did  not  recognize 
as  fixct.  At  length  the  mythic  theory  was  brought  to 
its  perfection  through  the  labors  chiefly  of  Dr.  David 
Frederick  Strauss. 

As  the  views  of  .this  writer  have  been  discussed  in 
our  "  ^Manual,"  and  will  again  come  before  us  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages,  w^e  will  not  enlarge  upon  them  here,  ex- 
cept to  notice  the  very  curious  examination,  in  the  con- 
cluding sections  of  Strauss's  "Life  of  Jesus,"  of  the 
problem  recently  si)oken  of,  how  a  clergyman  is  to 
reconcile  the  rejection  of  the  miraculous  with  the  reten- 


14 


EVIDENCES   OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


15 


1^! 


tion  of  the  Christian  name.  It  is  there  pointed  out  that 
the  gospel  story,  however  false  in  itself,  has  a  true  mean- 
ing. If  it  be  not  true  that  God  was  incarnate  in  the 
man  Jesus,  it  is  true  that  the  Infinite  enters  into,  and 
manifests  itself  in  the  finite.  The  true  Christ,  the  true 
Son  of  God,  is  not  a  single  man,  but  all  mankind. 
"  Humanity  is  the  union  of  the  two  natures,  —  it  is  the 
child  of  the  visible  Mother  and  the  invisible  Father,  Na- 
ture and  Spirit ;  it  is  the  worker  of  miracles,  in  so  far 
as  in  the  course  of  human  history  tlie  spirit  more  com- 
pletely subjugates  nature,"  and  so  on.  ("  Life  of  Jesus," 
§  151.)  "It  is  an  evidence  of  an  uncultivated  mind  to 
denounce  as  a  liypocrite  a  theologian  who  preaches,  for 
example,  on  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  since,  though  he 
may  not  believe  in  the  reality  of  that  event  as  a  single 
sensible  fact,  he  may,  nevertheless,  hold  to  be  true  the 
representation  of  the  process  of  spiritual  life,  which  tlie 
resurrection  of  Christ  affords."  (§  152.)  Strauss, 
indeed,  answers  in  part  this  sophistry,  wliich,  with  all 
his  errors,  he  was  too  manly  to  take  as  his  own  iruide : 
but  his  production  of  it,  and  tlie  lengthened  account  he 
gives  of  the  devices  by  which  an  unbeliever  may  recon- 
cile it  to  his  conscience  to  retain  his  place  as  a  Christian 
minister,  with  his  cautious  avoidance  of  a  decision  on 
the  subject,  sufficiently  indicate  that  tlie  instances  were 
neither  few  nor  obscure  in  which  such  unworthy  conduct 
had  been  pursued. 

Since  the  production  of  his  first  great  work,  the  "  Life 
of  Jesus,"  the  views  of  Dr.  Strauss  became  modified  to 
some  extent  by  those  of  another  eminent  scholar,  who 
had  formerly  been  Strauss's  instructor.  Dr.  Ferdinand 
Christian  Baur,  Professor  at  Tiibingen,  —  views  which 


I 


have  been  ably  supported  not  only  by  him,  but  by  many 
younger  writers,  who  with  himself  are  known  as  "The 
Tiibingen  School."  It  is  the  boast  of  this  school  to  ap- 
ply to  scriptural  criticism  not  the  facts  alone,  but  the 
philosophy,  of  history.  To  those  who  diflPer  from  them, 
they  appear  sometimes  rather  to  reconstruct  history  from 
imagination.  The  theory  of  the  Tiibingen  school  may 
be  characterized  as  that  of  "Tendency."  The  books  of 
the  New  Testament  were  mostly  written,  they  conceive, 
not  by  simple-minded  men,  keeping  in  view  their  pro- 
fessed object,  but  by  authors  who  had  each  his  especial 
purpose  to  serve,  his  tendency .^  to  the  promotion  of  which 
he  consciously  or  unconsciously  made  his  narrative  to 
conform.  None  can  deny  to  Dr.  Baur  the  praise  of  vast 
learninjTj  and  c^reat  acuteness  ;  but  his  reasonins:  some- 
times  reminds  the  reader  of  a  pyramid  standing  on  its 
point.  The  foundation  bears  no  fair  proportion  to  the 
structure  built  upon  it.  Long  and  circumstantial  nar- 
ratives of  the  sacred  writers  are  discredited,  on  account 
of  inferences  acutely  drawn  from  a  few  texts.  Thus 
the  statement,  given  in  Galatians  ii.  11,  of  a  difference 
between  Peter  and  Paul  in  a  single  instance,  is  made  the 
chief  proof  of  a  total  disagreement  between  those  two 
apostles ;  and  on  such  ground  the  Book  of  Acts  is  pro- 
nounced to  be,  not  authentic  history,  but  a  falsified  ac- 
count, which  owed  its  origin  to  a  "  reconciling  tendency." 
Two  texts  in  the  Apocalypse  establish  the  conclusion 
that  its  writer  w^as  bitterly  opposed  to  the  teaching  of 
Paul ;  and  Dr.  Baur,  reversing  the  decision  of  antiqui- 
ty, considers  the  Apocalypse  as  having  a  higher  claim 
to  be  recognized  as  the  work  of  John  than  the  Gospel 
which  bears  his  name.     The  inference  is  readily  drawn 


16 


EVIDENCES   OP  CHRISTIANIiy. 


I 'I 


f*i 


* 


that  the  original  apostles  —  Peter,  Julin,  and  their  com- 
panions —  believed  as  their  Master  had  taui^ht  them  ; 
and  the  religion,  as  tliey  received  it  from  him,  and  com- 
municated it  to  others,  was  a  mere  form  of  Judaism, 
not  a  system  fur  all  mankind.  It  was  Paul,  we  are  told, 
who,  deriving  his  commission,  not  from  Jesus  nor  his 
earlier  f(illowers,  but  from  his  own  fervid  genius,  whose 
inspiration  lie  took  for  the  voice  of  Heaven,  received 
this  imperfect  and  narrow  system,  freed  it  from  its  Jew- 
ish restrictions,  and  made  it  a  relij^ion  such  as  all  na- 
tions  could  receive.  But  having.no  acquaintance  with 
the  real  Jesus,  who  was  simply  a  Jewish  teacher  of  mo- 
rality, he  substituted  for  him  a  fiction  of  his  own,  a  di- 
vine being  whose  chief  object  in  coming  into  the  world 
was  to  die  as  a  sacrifice  for  its  sins.  Thus,  accordinir 
to  Dr.  Baur,  grew  Christianity.  Strange  that  he  should 
have  continued  to  rank  himself  amonij  its  teachers  I 

Among  recent  European  writers  who  have  followed  in 
the  path  of  nationalism,  we  have  occasion  only  to  men- 
tion Kenan  and  Schcnkel.  While  aijreeinii:  with  their 
predecessors  in  utterly  discrediting  the  miraculous  ele- 
ment in  Christianity,  these  writers  exhibit  a  decided  re- 
action in  their  warmer  appreciation  of  the  character  of 
the  Savior,  and  in  their  recognition  of  the  delineation 
of  that  character  in  the  fourth  Gospel.  Renan  was  dis- 
posed to  regard  that  Gospel  as  written  by  John.  Schen- 
kel,  while  assenting  to  the  teaching  of  Baur,  of  its  later 
origin  and  unhistorical  character,  still  maintains,  with 
singular  inconsistency,  that  its  author,  an  unknown  wri- 
ter of  the  second  century,  entered  more  fully  into  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  than  the  disciples  who  had  sat  at  his  feet, 
and  communicated  to  the  world  what  they  had  heard 


s 


'*> 


INTRODUCTORY. 


17 


from  him.  These  modifications  of  the  former  destruc- 
tive criticism  are  significant. 

It  nuist  not  be  supposed  that  the  assailants  of  super- 
natural (Jhrii?tianity  in  Germany  have  been  left  in  undis- 
puted possession  of  the  field.  The  ancient  faith  of  the 
Church  has  been  illustrated  by  such  names  as  Tholuck, 
Neander,  Ewald,  Dorncr,  Tischendorf,  with  many  less 
celebrated  ;  and  the  balance  of  opinion  at  present  is  said 
to  incline  in  favor  of  the  recognition  of  the  Christian 
Scri})tures  as  authentic,  and  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  di- 
vinely conunissioncd  Savior  of  mankind. 

The  Transcendental  Philosophy  first  attracted  public 
attention  in  this  country  about  1«S30.  The  rich  treasures 
of  German  literature  had  then  become  better  known 
than  before,  and  were  in  this  neighborhood  received  with 
the  more  interest  from  the  enthusiasm  excited  by  the 
personal  character  and  romantic  history  of  Dr.  Follen, 
an  exile  from  Germany-  for  his  liberal  opinions  on  po- 
litical subjects,  and  the  freedom  with  which  he  had  ex- 
pressed them.  This  excellent  man,  as  gentle  as  he  was 
brave,  after  some  professional  study  with  Dr.  Channing, 
entered  the  ministry,  and  soon  became  a  highly  accept- 
able preacher,  though  in  a  language  which  he  had  but 
recently  learned.  His  participation  in  the  anti-slavery 
effort  im[)aired  his  popularity  ;  yet  he  was  about  to  enter 
on  the  duties  of  a  village  pastor,  when  God  took  him  to 
himself.  Dr.  Follen  was  a  reverent  believer  in  Chris- 
tianity, as  divinely  given  and  miraculously  attested. 

In  183G,  the  publication  here  of  Carlyle's  "Sartor 
Rcsartus  "  presented  the  quaint  but  interesting  picture 
of   a  German  student,   of  great  learning,  but  far  re- 


I 


» 


f 


' 


18 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


moved  from  the  habits  of  common  life,  first  losing  him- 
self in  a  wilderness  of  universal  doubt,  then  restored  to 
peace  and  self-content  by  fixing  his  mental  eye  upon  the 
lidit  within.  In  1838,  Mr.  K.  W.  Emerson,  who  had, 
some  years  before,  resigned  his  pastoral  charge  on  con- 
scientious jirounds,  delivered  the  annual  discourse  before 
the  Cambridge  Divinity  School.  It  contained  expres- 
sion to  which  Professor  Henry  Ware,  Jr.,  of  that  insti- 
tution, felt  it  his  duty  to  reply,  in  a  sermon  on  "The 
Personality  of  the  Diety."  The  controversy  was  con- 
tinued by  the  Rev.  George  Ripley,  of  Boston,  in  support 
of  the  Transcendental  opinions,  and  by  Professor  An- 
drews Norton  in  defence  of  the  traditional  faith  of  the 
Christian  Church.  The  new  doctrines  attracted  the  be- 
lief, and  awoke  the  enthusiasm  of  a  wide  circle  of  the 
young  and  ardent,  while  the  novelty  of  the  views  pre- 
sented, and  the  strangeness  of  the  expressions  employed, 
moved  the  surprised  community  sometimes  to  grave  dis- 
pleasure, and  oftcner  to  mirth.  Even  those  who  shared 
the  excitement  of  that  time  now  look  back  upon  it  with 
a  smile  at  the  memory  of  its  extravagances  ;  yet  that 
excitement  had  its  advantages,  and  expressed  its  portion 
of  truth.  It  deserved  respect,  as  does  every  serious 
movement  of  thoughtful  minds  ;  and  it  contributed  to 
ripen,  and  prepare  for  their  present  usefulness,  some  of 
those  to  whom  our  community  now  looks  as  its  ablest 
and  safest  guides. 

In  May,  1841,  Theodore  Parker,  then  minister  of  the 
Church  at  West  Roxbury,  preached  his  celebrated  ser- 
mon on  "  The  Transient  and  Permanent  in  Christianity," 
which  brought  distinctly  before  the  public  the  question  of 


(« 


INTRODUCTORY. 


19 


the  supernatural  and  authoritative  claims  of  our  religion. 
In  following  years,  the  deserved  fame  of  Mr.  Parker  as 
a  scholar  and  reformer,  won  for  his  views  in  theology  a 
currency  to  which  in  themselves,  in  our  opinion,  they 
have  little  claim.  Among  writers  now  living,  we  will 
speak  only  of  the  honored  pastor  of  the  First  Unitarian 
Church  in  Philadelphia.  The  views  of  Dr.  Furness  do 
not  imply  a  rejection  of  miracles,  but  a  theory  respect- 
in  ir  them  which  owns  their  realitv  as  facts,  and  insists 
strongly  on  the  holiness  of  the  Great  Teacher  who 
wrought  them,  and  in  some  sense  on  his  authority.  The 
theory  of  Dr.  Furness,  in  all  its  details,  will  probably 
be  accepted  by  few ;  but  the  richness  of  thought  and 
feeling  with  which  it  is  developed  will  make  for  his  works 
a  permanent  place  among  the  literary  treasures  of  Lib- 
eral Christianity. 

More  recently  than  Transcendentalism,  another  sys- 
tem has  arisen,  whose  point  of  view  is  directly  opposite. 
"  The  Positive  Philosojihy  "  appears  to  be  the  culmina- 
tion of  a  method  of  thought,  to  which  the  researches  of 
modern  science  had  for  years  been  habituating  those  who 
engaged  in  them.  Those  researches  had  established 
more  and  more  the  idea  of  an  irreversible  order  in 
nature,  the  supremacy  of  law,  and  the  infrequency  of 
exceptions  to  it.  Those  phenomena 'which  former  ages 
had  ascribed  to  the  immediate  action  of  the  Deity  —  the 
thunder,  the  earthquake,  the  comet  —  were  shown  to  be 
the  results  of  causes  no  more  divine  than  the  rest  of  na- 
ture, and  subject  to  laws  as  definite  and  as  unchanging 
as  any  that  arc  recognized  in  the  most  ordinary  events. 
A  soulless  ball  of  fire  had  taken  the  place  of  Apollo's 


I 


20 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


* 

i 
If 


I 


^ 


i 


chariot,*  and  the  magician  who  couhl  rule  the  storm 
was  superseded  hy  the  ahuanac-niaker.     Hence  came  a 
dispo.^ition  to  disown  all  that  coidd  not  be  seen,  weighed, 
and  measured,  —  all,   at  least,   that  did  not  alllct  the 
electrometer;  and    this    disposition,    while  exertin"-  in 
thousands  its  materializing,  unspiritual  infiuence,  rose 
in  some  to  the  pretensions  of  a  philosoi)hical  system. 
While  Transcendentalism   looks   to   the   phenomena  of 
consciousness  alone   as  the  .source  of   knowled"-e,   the 
Positivism  of  Auguste  Comte  looks  to  all  observed  phe- 
nomena except  those  of  consciousness.     It  regards  as 
the  only  proper  objects  of  science  those  which  are  co"-- 
nizable   by   the   senses.     The  system   as  i>i'esentcd   by 
Comte  was  Atheism  ;  for  he  recognized  no  God  distinct 
from  tiie  generalization  of  man.      Some,  however,  who 
are  called  Positivists,  claim  to  stand  on  Christian  "round, 
and  expand  the  system  of  Comte,  to  its  great  improve- 
ment, but  to  the  loss  of  its  distinguishuig  characteristics. 
It  would  seem  to  need  no  proof  that  a  Transcenden- 
talism which  disowns  the  Positive,    and   a   Positivism 
which    disowns  the   Transcendental   and   the   spiritual, 
must  be  alike  partial  and  deficient.     And  vet  we  find 
advocates  of  either  system,  not  only  rejecting  that  view 
which  is  the  comi)lement  of  their  own,  but  derivin<^  from 
their  aversion  to  this  an  objection  to  the  religion  of  the 
gospel.     The  Transcendental ist  cannot  appreciate  favor- 


♦  •'  Wo  jetzt  nur,  wie  unsrc  "Weison  sagen, 
Scelenlos  cin  Ftuerball  sich  drelit, 
Lenkte  d:miuls  seiiien  goklnen  Wagen 
Helios  in  stiller  Majest.'U." 

ScuiLLER,  ''Die  Gotter  Gricchenlands,'* 


INTRODUCTORY. 


21 


J 


(t 


ably  the  external  evidence  for  Christianity.  To  him 
miracles  cannot  prove,  nor  testimony  support,  a  system 
which,  to  his  mind,  must  stand  or  fall  on  its  own  merits. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Positivist  disowns  as  unscientific 
all  teaching  that  declares  the  regular  order  of  nature  to 
have  sufiered  interruption  ;  nor  do  his  habits  of  thought 
aid  him  to  appreciate  ideas  connected  with  such  unsub- 
stantial things  as  faith  and  holiness  and  heaven.  Would 
that  the  advocates  of  both  systems  would  judge  more 
fairly.  Each  might  look  at  the  evidence  most  cono-enial: 
to  his  own  mode  of  thought ;  the  material  philosopher 
might  recognize  the  positive  evidence  of  outward  fiicts, 
and  the  testimony  of  martyrs  and  historians ;  and  the 
more  spiritual,  if  he  felt  that  such  proof  was  to  him 
unimportant,  might  still  be  willing  to  accept  it  as  true, 
connected  as  it  is  with  a  system  which  harmonizes  with 
his  innate  sense  of  truth,  and  responds  to  his  highest 
aspirations.  That  Christianity  derives  its  proof  alike 
from  the  visible  and  the  invisible  worlds,  should  com- 
mend it  to  both  schools  of  philosophy,  instead  of  draw- 
ing upon  it  the  opposition  of  either. 

In  order,  indeed,  to  command  our  full  assent,  the 
proof  of  our  religion  must  be  thus  complex.  The  evi- 
dence of  miracle  is  insufficient,  unless  it  be  given  in  be- 
half of  a  system  which  in  its  own  aspect  is  worthy  of 
God ;  and  though  this  testimony  of  its  intrinsic  worth 
is  the  most  valuable,  yet  to  a  large  class  of  minds  the 
evidence  of  miracle  is  also  necessary  to  confirm  it  as  a 
revelation  from  above. 

Thus  have  we  traced  the  scepticism  with  regard  to  the 
claims  of  Christianity  which  has  of  kite  appeared  among 


t 


22 


EVIDENCES  OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


US,  to  its  origin  in  the  speculations  of  two  foreign  schools 
of  philosophy,  the  Transcendental  and  the  Positive, 
which,  opposed  to  each  other  in  all  else,  have  alike  led 
many  of  their  followers  not  only  to  the  rejection  of 
Christianity,  but  to  the  denial  of  all  religion,  and  the 
subversion  of  the  principles  of  morality.  The  view  we 
have  taken  exhibits  to  us  alike  the  presumption  of  the 
human  intellect  and  its  weakness.  Philosophers  have 
tried  to  measure  the  Infinite,  and  have  thought  to  de- 
throne the  xYlmighty  ;  and  yet  their  minds  have  been  too 
narrow  to  take  in  the  just  claims  of  the  system  which 
supplies  the  deficiencies  of  their  own. 

The  view  we  have  taken  reveals  to  us  this  fact,  impor- 
tant in  its  bearing  on  the  argument  before  us,  that  the 
denial  of  the  historical  and  supernatural  claims  of  Chris- 
tianity, though  among  us  it  may  be  expressed  in  meas- 
ured and  reverent  language,  and  by  those  who  have  a  title 
to  our  respect  for  their  learning,  sincerity,  and  moral 
worth,  is  not  only  historically  connected  with  the  Deism 
of  former  days  in  France  and  England,  but  with  sys- 
tems of  philosophy  —  the  Hegelian  and  the  Comtean 
—  which  are  partial,  bewildering,  and  presumptuous. 
These  systems  have,  with  many  of  their  followers,  re- 
sulted in  the  denial  of  God's  existence  and  of  man's 
immortality,  unsettling  thus  the  foundations  of  all  vir- 
tue ;  while  the  more  frequent  conclusion  of  the  Hegelian 
speculations  has  been  a  cloudy  Pantheism,  in  which 
God,  though  his  being  was  recognized,  no  longer 
appears  as  a  Person,  capable  of  loving,  to  whom  the 
human  heart  can  aspire  in  love,  and  human  need  can 
address  itself  in  prayer  with  the  hope  of  a  benignant 
answer. 


N  f- 


-i; 


( 


I   „ 


INTRODUCTORY. 


23 


Let  then  those  who  feel  inclined  to  enter  the  paths  of 
modern  Anti-supernaturalism,  know  to  what  they  tend. 
It  is  right  to  examine  fairly,  but  it  is  also  right  to  ex- 
amine with  our  eyes  open  ;  and  so  great  is  the  attraction 
to  many  minds,  of  speculations  that  are  presented  in  the 
proud  names  of  learning,  science,  and  free  inquiry,  that 
we  claim  no  undue  advantage  for  the  truth  we  would 
defend,  when  we  remind  those  who  would  examine  its 
evidences,  that  the  great  foreign  writers  who  invite  them 
to  deny  the  divine  mission  of  the  Savior,  have  rejected 
also  the  doctrines  of  a  conscious  individual  existence  in 
a  future  state,  and  of  the  being  of  a  personal  God. 

We  have  reason  to  trust  that  the  wretched  sophistry 
by  which,  according  to  the  representation  of  Strauss, 
some  German  clergymen  attempt  to  satisfy  their  con- 
sciences in  preaching  a  religion  in  which  they  do  not 
believe,  would  find  few  in  this  country  to  practise  or  to 
defend  it.  AVe  think  that  our  young  tlieologians  are 
less  apt  to  disguise  their  own  doubts,  than  to  Ml  into 
the  opposite  and  nobler  error,  of  making  tlieraselves 
appear  more  unbelieving  than  they  really  are.  No  one, 
indeed,  ought  to  be  unjust  to  himself,  nor  to  fill  with 
needless  disquiet  the  minds  of  a  worshipping  assembly. 
But  the  churches  of  our  land  are  Christian  churches ; 
and  every  one  who  aspires  to  lead  tlieir  devotions  is  un- 
derstood to  be  a  Christian  in  his  belief.  Every  honor- 
able man,  before  he  seeks  the  office  of  a  pulpit  instruc- 
tor, will  satisfy  himself  of  his  right  to  bear  that  name, 
not  in  some  comprehensive  meaning  ingeniously  adapted 
to  it,  but  in  tlie  sense  it  possesses  in  the  common  usage 
of  mankind.     As  every  patriot  soldier  in  our  late  war, 


{ 


24 


EVIDENCES  OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


even  before  lie  took  the  oatli,  hnd  recognized  by  his  en- 
listment his  allegiance  to  his  country,  so  they  who  would 
bear  office  in  the  Christian  host,  take,  by  an  obvious  im- 
plication which  no  ingenuity  can  set  aside,  the  vow  of 
allejriance  to  its  Crucified  Leader. 


RELIGIONS   OTHER  THAN  CHRISTIAN. 


25 


\ 


CHAPTER  I. 

Religions  other  than  Christian. 

The  Clnistian  Religion  claims  to  be  a  Vevelation  from 
Uod,  especially  communicated,  and  miraculously  authen- 
ticated In  order  to  judge  fairly  of  the  probable  valid- 
ity of  this  claim,  an  inquiry  is  needful  into  the  systems 
held  by  nations  which  are  not  Christian.  If  ,ve  find 
that  those  systems  stand  on  a  level  with  that  of  the  Gos- 
pel, m  the  elev.atio„  of  their  idea  of  God,  and  the  purity 
and  power  of  their  moral  influence,  we  shall  naturally 

human.  IJut  if  ,ve  find  in  all  other  systems  signs  of 
human  imperfection,  defective  ideas  of  the  Sum-erne 
Bemg,  and  i.icomplete  views  of  man's  duty,  whi  e  I 
ehgion  of.  the  Bible  alone  presents  to  us  a^eet  M 
of  faith  and  practice,  the  difference  in  the  ststems  w^U 

that  those  which  are  thus  defective  are  "of  the  earth 
earthy,"  whi|e  we  shall  not  wonder  that  the  Chr   ttn 
regards  the  Founder  of  his  religion  .as  the  "W  frl 

Again,  if  we  find  in  the  various  religions  of  unchris 

on  mated,  _,f,  while  their  own  history  has  been  one  of 
uniform  deterior.-ition,  evincing  a  tendeLy  in  tlhuln 
mmd  towards  idolatry  and  general  corruption  thr^ 
prese,^  indications  of  a  period  when  the  hu^aa  race 


4. 


26 


EVIDENCES  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


RELIGIONS   OTHER  THAN   CHRISTIAN. 


27 


:* 


1-1 


believed  in  one  Almighty  God,  —  we  shall  naturally  in- 
quire, Whence  came' that  purer  faith  of  the  days  of  old? 
The  observed  tendency  of  mankind  to  Polytheism  for- 
bids the  supposition  that  men  in  primitive  ages  sought 
out  for  themselves  the  suhhme  truth,  from  which  their 
successors,  whether  cultivated  or  savage,  have  ever  since 
departed.  AVo  shall  be  led  then  to  the  conjecture  of  a 
primitive  revehition.  And  if  we  find  the  fa(;t  of  such  a 
revelation  taught  in  the  ancient  records  of  that  one  sys- 
tem wliich  we  have  already  discovered  to  be  alone  true, 
complete,  and  worthy  of  a  divine  origin,  we  shall  derive 
heuce  at  once  a  confirmation  of  its  claims,  and  an  ex- 
planation of  the  source  whence  that  portion  of  truth  was 
derived,  which  we  find  blended  with  the  errors  of  hea- 
thenism. 

Moiia:>diedanism. 

In  this  examination  of  religions  other  than  Christian, 
we  take  first  that  of  Mohannned.  Except  the  Jewish 
system,  the  ^Mohammedan  is  the  most  nearly  connected 
with  the  Christian.  It  resembles  it  in  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  One,  Supreme,  Eternal  God,  the  Ruler  of  the 
world,  and  the  Judge  of  human  actions.  But  this  grand 
truth  cannot  entitle  iVIohammedanism  to  stand  in  competi- 
tion with  the  religion  of  tlie  Bible,  for  from  that  religion  it 
was  derived.  Tlie  Arabian  prophet  knew  something  of 
Christianity,  though  in  a  corrupted  form.  He  knew 
much  more  of  Judaism ;  and  it  was  from  that  religion 
that  the  noblest  features  of  his  svstem  were  borrowed. 

Accustomed  as  Christians  have  been  to  regard  Moham- 
med as  an  impostor,  it  is  but  lately  that  justice  has  been 
done,  either  to  the  man  or  the  doctrine  which  he  taught. 


*'    i 


The  religion  of  the  Koran  should  be  regarded  in  contrast, 
not  to  the  Christianity  of  our   age,  nor  even  to  that  of 
the  seventh  century,  but  to  the  gross  idolatry  which  ex- 
isted in  Arabia  when  Mohammed   arose.     Some  tribes 
worshipped  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars ;  one,  near  the  Per- 
sian Gulf,  had  adopted  the  fire-worship  of  the  neighborintr 
nation ;  the  goddesses  AUat,  Menat,  and  Al-Uzza,  were 
adored,  —  the  last  under  the  form  of  a  tree.     All,  how- 
ever, united  in  a  superstitious  reverence  for  the  Caaba,  or 
holy  house  of  Mecca,  which  seems  to  have  been  not  so 
nmch  a  place  for  prayer  to  be  ofi'cred,  as  itself  the  object 
of  fetichistic  worship.     For  this  medley  of  religions,  Mo- 
hammed substituted  the  belief  in  one  God,  the\lmighty 
Sovereign  of  the  Universe.     Excited  by  the  opposition  he 
encountered,  he  represented  it  as  the  cliief  duty  of  those 
who  would  serve  this  Divine  Monarch,  to  destroy,  by  force 
of  arms,  all  forms  of  idolatry.    These,  and  theirVolIowers, 
were  represented  as  hateful  in  the  sight  of  God,  while 
the  "true  believers"  were  his  favored   servants.     The 
prophet,  and  his  successors,  whether  bearing  the  title  of 
Caliph  or  Sultan,  were  delegates  of  the  Most  Ilirdi,  and 
commissioned,  therefore,  by  Him  to  rule  with  absolute 
power. 

From  this  blending  of  truth  with  error,  arose  the 
strength  and  the  weakness  of  Ishiraism.  For  a  century  it 
was  irresistible  in  its  course  of  conquest.  The  Moham- 
niedan  warrior  went  forth  in  the  name  of  God,  to  do 
Ood's  work,  and  under  the  lead  of  God's  "  Commander  of 
the  Faithful."  But  with  the  cessation  of  conquest  the 
animatuig  spirit  of  the  system  lost  much  of  its  strength, 
while  US  darker  features,  bigotry,  pride,  injustice,  des- 
potism, sensuality,  became  more  and  more  prominent. 


t 


28 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


u 


It 


The  manly  subjection  of  the  soldier  to  his  chief,  and  the 
religious  obedience  of  the  believer  to  his  spiritual  head, 
gave  place  tc  the  rehition  of  slave  to  despot ;  no  aristoc- 
racy of  birth,  no  limitation  of  constitutional  law,  filled 
up  the  dreary  interval  between  the  cottage  and  the  throne, 
or  gave  protection  to  the  subject  against  the  oppression 
of  sultan  or  pasha.     On  the  other  hand,  where  countries 
or  provinces  had  been  conquered,  no  wise  conciliation 
aimed  at  the  blending  of  the  different  races  into  one. 
Conversion   was    the   only   condition   of   freedom ;    the 
Christian  or  Hindoo  subject  was  but  a  conquered  and 
enslaved  enemy.     The  weakening  of  tlie  central  author- 
ity and  the  oppression  of  the  people  followed  with  equal 
certainty.     A  striking  example  of  this  is  given  in  the 
history   of   Servia.     The  Janissaries  of  that    province 
had   been  banislicd,  and    their  property  confiscated  by 
Sultan  Selim  III.,  on  account  of  their  tyrannical  and  re- 
bellious conduct.    They  leagued  themselves  with  Paswan 
Oglou,  the  rebel  Pasha  of  AVidin,  attacked  Servia,  and 
were   repulsed   by  its  energetic,  governor,  with  a  force 
levied  from  among  its  Turkish  and  Christian  inhabitants. 
But  Moslem  pride  and  bigotry  were  alarmed ;  the  Mufti 
declared  that  it  was  against  the  law  to  drive  the  faithful 
from  their  possessions  in  favor  of  the  Rayahs.     So  the 
Sultan  made  peace  with  the  rebel  Paswan,  and  readmit- 
ted the  Janissaries  into  Servia.     When  afterwards  they 
murdered  the  faithful  governor,  and  again  oppressed  the 
people,    the  sovereign   had   nothing  to   employ   against 
them   but  empty   tlu'cats,  which  excited  them   to  new 
atrocities,  and  thus  led  to  the  revolution  which  wrested 
the  province  from  the  Turkish  power.*     Similar  causes 
♦  See  Rankc's  "  Servia,"  Chap.  VI. 


f 


VAli 


BELIGIONS  OTHER  THAN   CHRISTIAN. 


29 


led  to  similar  results,  in  the  Greek  Eevolution,  and  re- 
cently in  the  insurrection  in  Crete.  Oppression,  lust, 
and  faithlessness  have  given  provocation,  and  thus 
hastened  the  fall  of  a  power  that  merited  its  fate.  Nor 
were  these  crimes  incidental  merely  ;  they  resulted  natu- 
rally from  the  principles  of  bigotry,  pride,  and  despotism 
which  are  identified  with  the  institutions  of  the  Moham- 
medan reliijion. 

While  that  religion  has  been  thus  marked  by  crime  in 
its  relation  to  the  subject,  it  has  appeared  in  colors  as 
dark  in  the  imperial  family.  It  has  been  known  for 
centmues  that  the  policy  of  the  Turkish  court  was  to  put 
to  death  any  whose  birth  might  render  them  rivals 
to  the  reigning  sovereign.  This  is  referred  to  by  Shake- 
speare, in  whose  time  an  atrocious  instance  of  this  im- 
perial fratricide  had  tiiken  place.*  It  may  be  thought 
that  this  was  the  custom  of  a  darker  age ;  but  shortly 
after  the  accession  of  Mahmoud  II.,  in  1808,  in  order  to 
secure  liis  throne,  the  infant  son  of  Mustafa  IV.  was 
put  to  death,  and  four  women  of  the  seraglio  also,  lest 
they  should  give  birth  to  children  of  royal  descent. 
Such  are  some  of  the  atrocities  of  Mohammedanism. 

*  "  Brothers,  you  mix  your  sadness  with  some  fear : 
This  is  the  English,  not  the  Turkish  court; 
Not  Aniurath  an  Aniurath  succeeds, 
But  Harry  Harry." 

JTenrij  IV.,  Second  Part,  Act  V.  Sc.  IT. 


30 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


BRAnMIXISM. 


In  comparinn:  Christianity  with  tlic  religion  of  Ilin- 
dostan,  we  need  not  repeat  the  details  which  have  been 
so  often  presented,  of  the  cruelties  and  impurities  of 
Indian  idolatry.  It  is  sufficient  to  refer  to  such  prac- 
tices as  the  exposure  of  the  dying  and  the  hastening 
of  their  death  on  the  banks  or  in  the  waters  of  the 
Gano-es  :  the  burninix  of  widows  on  the  funeral  pile  of 
their  husbands  ;  and  the  condition  of  those  who,  shrink- 
ino-  from  such  a  fate,  drag  out  a  miserable  existence  of 
constant  mourning  and  penance ;  this  too,  when  mar- 
riaf^e  and  widowhood  may  have  commenced  when  they 
were  yet  but  children.  But  it  may  be  replied  when 
these,  and  the  still  darker  atrocities  of  impure  idolatry, 
are  named,  that  they  are  but  corruptions  introduced  into 
a  religion  which  was  originally  pure  Monotheism.  A 
few  words  then  are  needed  on  this  subject. 

It  appears  from  the  researches  of  competent  scholars, 
that  Monotheism  was  the  early  religion  of  India.  If 
this  was  originally  held  in  its  pure  form,  it  became  at 
length  corrupted  into  Pantheism.  The  object  of  reverence 
was  Brahma  (the  expanded,  tlie  vast).  This  word  in 
its  neuter  form,  Brahma,  or  Brahm,  denotes  the  imper- 
sonal essence  from  which  all  nature  is  self-evolved; 
"not  an  object  of  worship,  but  merely  of  devout  con- 
templation." "As  milk  changes  to  curd,  and  water  to 
ice,  so  is  Brahma  variously  transformed  and  diversified, 
without  aid  of  tools  or  exterior  means  of  any  sort."  Of 
this  being,  tlie  human  soul  "  is  a  portion,  as  a  spark  in 
the  fire.     The  relation  is  not  as  that  of  master  and  ser- 


RELIGIONS  OTHER  THAN  CHRISTIAN. 


31 


vant,  ruler  and  ruled,  but  as  that  of  whole  and  part."  * 
But  the  mind  could  not  be  satisfied  with  tliis  dreamy 
system.  The  same  word  therefore,  in  its  masculine 
form,  Brahma,  denotes  a  deity  who  is  personal  and 
active,  but  limited  in  Ids  sphere  to  the  one  work  of  cre- 
ating. Again,  as  men  felt  the  need  of  a  protector  as 
w^ell  as  a  creator,  tliis  cliaractcr  was  borne  by  Vishnu, 
the  Preserver.  But  they  saw  that,  notwithstanding  his 
power,  evil,  decay,  and  death  existed ;  and  to  account 
for  these,  they  recognized  a  third  deity  in  Siva,  the  De- 
stroyer. These  were  the  Indian  Trimurti,  or  Trinity ; 
and  from  these,  in  their  various  manifestations  and 
descendants,  the  countless  gods  of  Hindoo  idolatry  have 
proceeded.  We  find  then  tliat  as  soon  as  Brahminism 
took  a  single  step  beyond  the  great  idea  of  God,  which 
it  seems  to  have  received' from  the  original  revelation, 
that  step  was  error,  and  led  to  more  and  more  of  error 
and  corruption.  The  ancient  sacred  books  of  the  Hin- 
doos have  been  much  commended,  and  placed  by  some 
in  favorable  comparison  with  the  sacred  books  of  Chris- 
tianity. But  as  Oriental  scholars  have  more  fully  ascer- 
tained the  real  character  of  these  books,  it  appears  that 
they  are  mostly  composed  of  prayers,  addressed,  not  to 
the  One  God,  but  to  the  firmament,  fire,  the  earth,  the 
air,  the  sun  and  moon,  and  to  spirits.  Tlicir  mythology 
personifies  the  objects  of  nature ;  and  while  they  may 
teach  in  some  passages  tliat  these  deities  are  all  resolv- 
able into  three,  —  fire,  the  air,  and  the  sun,  —  or  even 
into  one,  yet  the  worship  of  the  elements,  "  the  creature, 

♦  Passages  from  the    Brahma-suiraSi  translated  by  Mr.   Cole- 
brooke. 


32 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


rather  than  the  Creator,"  is  the  general  doctrine  of  the 
much-praised  Vedas. 

While  therefore  the  great  error  of  Mohammedanism 
was  in  its  recognizing  God  exclusively  as  sovereign, 
that  of  Brahminism,  in  its  purest  form,  appears  to  have 
been  the  very  opposite.  The  Hindoo  did  not  own 
Brahma,  as  sovereign  at  all,  but  conceived  of  him  either 
as  synonymous  with  nature,  or  as  the  impersonal  source 
from  which  nature  proceeds,  neither  controlling  its  forces 
nor  interested  in  its  well-being. 

Another  peculiarity  of  the  Hindoo  religion  is  in  the 
system  of  caste,  and  particularly  in  the  high  claims  of 
its  priestly  class.  The  Brahmins,  the  hereditary  spiritual 
aristocracy  of  Ilindostan,  were  anciently  the  exclusive 
possessors  of  knowledge,  inviolable  in  person  and  prop- 
erty, and  supposed  to  be  j>ossessed  of  power,  by  their 
curse,  to  inflict  pain  even  on  the  gods.  The  Sudra,  the 
member  of  the  lowest  caste,  was  the  mere  human  animal. 
If  he  presumed  to  read  the  Vedas,  he  >vas  punishable 
with  death.  The  superior  classes  had  a  higher  nature 
than  his.  They  were  "twice  born."  But  beyond  even 
the  Kshatriya  and  the  Vaisya,  the  Brahmin  was  exalted. 
He  must  keep  himself  and  his  race  pure.  It  was  to  be 
his  ambition  to  rise  into  identity  with  God  —  absorption 
back  into  the  impersonal  Brahma. 

If  we  find  here  a  resemblance  to  the  Christian  doc- 
trine of  regeneration,  we  remember  that  in  Christianity 
it  is  not  the  accident  of  descent  wliich  makes  one  man 
to  differ  from  another;  but  that  it  recognizes  in  the 
humblest  the  image  of  God,  and  offers  to  him  its  second 
birth,  not  as  the  privilege  of  a  proud  caste,  but  as  the 
gift  of  God's  Spirit  to  the  lowly  minded. 


lU 


RELIGIONS   OTHER  THAN  CHRISTIAN. 


33 


A 


Buddhism. 

The  history  of  Buddhism  in  its  early  period  appears  to 
have  been  briefly  the  following.  As  we  liave  already 
seen,  Brahminism  was  originally  a  modification  of 
Monotheism,  teaching  that  the  One  God  exists  in  perfect 
repose,  and  that  the  universe  is  a  succession  of  emana- 
tions from  him.  This  doctrine  became  corrupted,  first 
by  the  introduction  of  the  Trimurti,  Vishnu  and  Siva, 
being  associated  with  Brahma,  and  afterwards  by  innu- 
merable steps  of  degradation.  The  care  of  this  religion 
was  committed  to  a  race  of  priests,  the  Brahmins.  Side 
by  side  with  these,  —  like  the  prophets,  and  afterwards 
the  Rabbins  of  Israel,  besides  the  priests  of  the  race  of 
Aaron,  —  was  a  succession  of  sages  ;  men  whose  com- 
mission to  instruct  the  people  was  not  from  family 
descent,  but  from  the  light  within  them.  Buddhism 
was  the  protest  of  these  men  against  the  increasing 
corruption.  It  aimed  to  vindicate  at  once  the  honor  of 
God  and  of  man.  In  opposition  to  the  growing  idolatry, 
it  proclaimed  one  supreme  and  all-embracing  Intelli- 
gence ;  such  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  Boodh.  In 
opposition  to  the  exclusive  pretensions  of  the  Brahmins, 
it  declared  that  all  intelligences,  of  men  and  even  of 
animals,  were  parts  of  that  boundless  Mind.  Such  were 
the  doctrines,  —  sublime  truth  blended  with  error,  w^iich 
Gautama,  or  Sakya-muni,  a  devotee  of  princely  rank, 
and  the  most  eminent  of  these  sages,  taught  in  the 
groves  of  Benares,  perhaps  a  thousand  years  before  the 
Christian  era. 

The  greatest  error  of  this  ancient  sage  was  evidently 
in  retaining  the  Brahminical  conception  of  God  as  an 


Jaim^ 


34 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


1,$^ 


II- 

n 


inactive   and   indeed   impersonal  being,  a  divine  sub- 
stance, the  thinking  ]Mind  of  the  world  rather  than  its 
animatino"  Soul,  and  liable  to  be  confounded  with  the 
world  itself.     From  this  error  arose,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  idolati-y  of  Brahminism ;   from  the  same  cause  there 
came,  in  the  system  founded  by  Sakya-muni,  first  Pan- 
theism, then  Atheism,  and  then,  to  fill  the  dreary  void 
of  a  godless  universe,  the  deification  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  of  animals,  and  of  human  beings,  but  above  all, 
of  the  founder  of  the  religion   himself.     The  infinite 
Intelligence  was  forgotten ;  a  Being  alike  inactive  and 
inconceivable  could  not  be  the  object  of  worship ;  but 
the  rule  of  the  world  was  consigned  to  a  succession  of 
limited  intelliirences,  and  Gautama  was  acknowledged 
as  the  Boodh  to  reign  for  ^\c  thousand  years.     At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  is  to  surrender  his  office  to  some 
other  deified  mortal,  and  to  attain  nirvana,  absorption 
into  the  infinite.     ^leantime,   while  governing  the  uni- 
verse, he  has  his  representative  on  earth ;  for  his  spirit 
inhabits  the  bodies  of  a  succession  of  pontiffs,  who,  under 
the  name  of  Dalai  Lama  (Ocean-like  Priest) ,  exercise 
at  once,  like  the  Pope,  a  wide-spread  spiritual  control, 
and  a  limited  temporal  sovereignty.     The  resemblance 
extends  to  other  features  of  Komish  Christianity,  —  to 
the  celibacy  of  the  priesthood,  the  monastic  life,  and  the 
mendicant  order.     In  one  absurdity.  Buddhism  stands 
alone.     The  worshipper  in  its  temples  need  not  repeat  a 
prayer.     All  that  is  required  is,  to  turn  a  wheel  or  drum 
on  which  the  prayer  is  written,  which  is  thus  brought  to 
the  notice  of  the  Deity. 

In  comparing  Christianity  with  this  system,  we  have 
to  admit  that  our  religion  also  has  become  corrupted. 


RELIGIONS   OTHER  THAN  CHRISTIAN. 


35 


But  the  difference  is  perceivable  in  this ;  that  Ir  Bud- 
dhism, as  in  Brahminism,  we  can  point  to  a  fundamental 
error  in  the  system  itself.  Christianity,  like  Buddhism, 
teaches  of  one  God,  who  is  everywhere;  but  it  teaches 
also  that  he  is  our  Creator  and  our  Father.  It  tells  us 
that  man  is  made  in  God's  image,  and  is  God's  child ; 
but  it  does  not  tell  us  that  the  finite  can  ascend  to  share 
the  throne  of  the  Infinite. 

With  regard  to  the  position  of  their  founders,  and  the 
apparent  causes  of  their  success,  there  is  a  wide  dificr- 
ence  between  Buddhism  and  Christianity.  Sakya-muni 
was  a  philosopher,  neither  claiming  supernatural  inspi- 
ration nor  miraculous  power,  —  whaterer  legends  may 
have  gathered  around  him  in  the  lapse  of  near  three 
thousand  years.  His  personal  character  had  little  to  do 
with  his  system,  except  to  commend  it  by  the  attraction, 
alike  of  his  honest  purpose  and  of  his  mistaken  asceticism. 
That  he  left  his  wife  and  children,  to  give  himself  to 
retirement  and  meditation,  may  have  given  him  sanctity 
in  the  estimation  of  his  countrymen,  but  in  the  light  of 
Christianity  it  appears  as  an  abandonment  of  duty.  The 
spread  of  his  system  is  easily  accounted  for.  It  was  a 
reform,  undertaken  by  one  who  united  the  influence  of 
princely  station,  of  reputed  wisdom  and  holiness,  and 
probably  of  eloquence.  The  chief  doctrine  he  proclaimed 
was  a  form  of  Monotlicism,  which  the  popular  religion 
had  forgotten,  but  did  not  deny.  The  institution  of 
caste  he  undermined,  rather  than  controverted.  In  some 
Buddhist  countries  it  still  exists,  though  in  an  enfeebled 
state.  Buddhism  thus  made  extensive  progress  in  India 
before  the  persecution  arose,  which  drove  it  from  the 
country,  and  rendered  its  followers  an  army  of  mission- 


tfr. 


% 


gg  EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

aries,  well  prepared  to  subject  to  its  sway  the  .-egions  of 
south-eastern   Asia,   where   probably,   at   that    remote 
period,  there  was  «o  wcll-dcvelopcd  systcu.,  either  of 
civilization  or  religion,  to  rival  its  elauns  and  oppose  .ts 
progress.     What  a  contrast  was  tins  to  tne  fierce  attacks 
Ihich  Christianity  sustained  from  the  moment  of  its 
birth !     Its  Founder,  not  born,  like  bakya-muni,  m  a 
royal  station,  gathered  his  adherents  among  the  poor, 
and  gave  his  life  as  the  penalty  for  teaelnng  the  truth 
His  followers  had  to  encounter  the  opposition,  first  ot 
their  own  national  rulers,  and  then  of  the  far  m.ghtie 
Roman  empire.     The  doctrine  they  proclaimed  was  not 
an  attempt'  to  bring  again  into  notice  pnnoples  recog- 
nized by  the  popular  religion.     It  was  the  very  reverse 
o    the  prevaknt  idolatry,   and  encumbered  by  the  fact 
that  its  author  had  been  crucified  -"to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling-block,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness.       On 
the  other  hand  it  claimed,  -  what   Buddhism   in     ts 
early  years  did  not  claim,  -  to  be  a  miraculous  revela- 
tion;    It  did  not,  like  Buddhism,  give  way  before  per- 
secution ;  but  held  its  ground  and  achieved  its  triumph 
where  it  had  first  been  promulgated.     Its  prevalence, 
under  such  circumstances,  and  in  the  face  of  such  oppo- 
in,  is  a  strong  proof  of  the  validity  of  its  title  to  a 
divine  origin. 

COXFUCIUS. 

About  five  centuries  before  Christ,  and  not  far  from 
the  same  interval  after  Sakya-muni,  -  though  some 
consider  them  as  nearly  contemporaneous,  -  appeared 
r  philosophic  legislatorof  China.     Confucius  (Ivoong- 

foo-  se)  was  of  high  descent  by  both  parents,  his  father 


llELIGIONS  OTHER  THAN  CHRISTIAN. 


37 


havin«-  been  a  distimj^uished  officer  of  the  government. 
This  circumstance  probably  directed  his  attention  to 
statesmanship,  and  made  the  duty  of  the  subject  the 
central  point  in  his  system  of  morals.  Like  Sakya- 
muni,  he  sacrificed  domestic  duty  to  ambition,  disguised 
as  the  desire  of  usefulness ;  for  after  his  wife  had  borne 
him  a  son,  he  divorced  her,  in  order  to  give  himself 
entirely  to  study.  His  life  was  spent  in  an  interchange 
of  official  station  and  compelled  retirement ;  sometimes 
the  minister  of  princes,  and  applying  his  theories  to 
advance  the  hai)piness  of  the  people ;  at  other  times 
obliged  to  give  way  to  the  envy  and  malignity  of  his 
rivals ;  perhaps  also  to  their  superior  practical  ability, 
for  the  man  of  theoretic  genius  is  not  always  the  man  of 
business.  But  whetlier  in  power  or  in  retirement,  he 
had  around  him  a  band  of  attached  disciples;  and 
after  his  death,  his  memory  was  honored,  and  his  teach- 
insr  became  the  acknowledged  code  of  morals  of  the 
empire. 

Confucius  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  taught  a  religion. 
Some  have  questioned  whether  he  recognized  a  God. 
He  did  however  acknowledge  a  First  Cause,  or  Reason 
of  things,  "eternal,  infinite,  indescribable,  indestructible, 
without  limits,  omnipotent  and  omnipresent."  The 
central  point  of  influence  of  this  Cause  he  supposed  to 
be  in  the  blue  firmament  (Tien) ,  and  declared  it  to  be 
the  supreme  duty  of  the  prince,  in  the  name  of  his  sub- 
jects, to  present  offerings  to  Tien,  particularly  for  obtain- 
inn-  a  favorable  seed-time  and  an  abundant  harvest. 
Besides  this,  he  ordained  the  worship  of  ancestors  ;  the 
spirits  of  the  good  being  permitted  to  visit  such  places 
as  their  descendants  might  set  apart  for  such  memorial 


38 


EVIDENCES  OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


rites.  To  these  devotional  services  was  added  in  after 
times  the  worship  of  the  philosopher  himself,  to  whose 
memory  a  temple  is  erected  in  every  city,  while  his 
numerous  descendants  are  said  to  be  the  only  hereditary 

nobility  of  China. 

The  worship  of  ancestors  was  in  harmony  with  the 
ethical  system  of  Confucius,  the  great  idea  of  which  was 
morality  founded  on  filial  reverence.     The  relation  of 
children  to  a  father  illustrates  that  of  subjects  to  their 
emperor.     A  paternal  despotism  is  thus  the  ideal  gov- 
ernment of  Confucius.     The  duties  of  mankind  appear 
to  be  comprised  in  what  with  children  we  should  call 
good  behavior.     Not  attaining  to  the  Christian  rule  of 
the  regulation  of  the  heart,   Confucius  gave  precepts, 
often  excellent,  often  trilling,  for  the  regulation  of  the 
life.     In  a  word,  his  system  seems  the  introduction,  as 
a  law  for  mankind,  of  the  morals  and  the  politics  of  an 
orderly   school-room.     In   this   light,  we    may  readily 
understand  liow  he  attained  to  the  negative  form  of  the 
''Golden   Kule:"  "Do    nothing   to    others    which    you 
would  not  be  willing  that  they  should  do  to  you."     This 
is  the  rule  of  good  behavior,  the  rule  of  justice.     It  has 
been  given   by  other  Gentile  moralists,  and  appears  in 
the  Talmud  as  a  precept  of  Rabbi  Ilillel.     But  Christ 
gave  the  law  in  its  positive  form  :  "  Whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  to  you,   do  ye  even  so  to  them." 
This  is  the  law,  not  of  justice  merely,  but  of  all-embrac- 
ing benevolence. 

The  account  we  have  given  of  the  system  of  Confucius 
may  explain  the  hold  it  took  and  retained  upon  the 
regard  of  the  Chinese  nation.  It  was  adapted  to  their 
form  of  government.     It  gained  the  favor  of  princes, 


RELIGIONS   OTHER  THAN   CHRISTIAN. 


39 


even  of  the  best  among  them ;  for  while  it  sustained 
their  power,  it  taught  them  to  exercise  it  as  fathers  of 
their  people.  It  endeared  itself  to  the  people  by  the 
sanction  it  gave  to  family  order,  and  family  affection 
amonc:  the  livini]:,  and  to  that  tender  feeling  which  bids 
us  commemorate  the  dead.  But  it  was  hostile  to  free- 
dom, fatal  to  independence  of  thought  and  action.  Its 
tendency  was  to  a  rigid  formalism  in  outwc^rd  conduct, 
with  little  to  call  forth  the  powers  of  the  mind,  or  to 
purify  and  elevate  the  feelings  of  the  heart.  The  result 
we  perceive  in  the  fixed  and  petrified  condition  of  Chi- 
nese civilization. 

"  Better  fifty  years  of  Europe  than  a  cycle  of  Cathay ! "  * 

The  system  of  Confucius  is,  however,  not  alone  domi- 
nant in  China.  The  worshippers  of  Taou  (Reason), 
acknowledfT^iu!]:  Laou-tse,  the  teacher  of  Confucius,  as 
their  leader,  appear  to  have  been  originally  speculative 
and  experimental  philosophers,  as  Confucius  was  a  prac- 
tical moralist.  Buddhism  was  introduced  into  China  in 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  by  an  emperor 
w^io  felt  the  want  of  something  more  distinctly  religious 
than  either  of  tlicse  systems.  The  three  sects,  follow- 
ers of  Confucius,  of  Laou-tse,  and  of  Fo  or  Buddha, 
seem  to  dwell  together  in  harmony  ;  and  if  there  was 
formerly  any  violent  struggle  among  them,  its  remem- 
brance has  faded  with  the  lapse  of  time.  That  there 
have  been,  however,  jealousy,  and  court  intrigue,  and 
crime  in  connection  with  tins  diflPcrence  of  relictions 
opinion,  is  indicated  by  the  facts  that,  in  1780,  the 
Grand    Lama    visited    Pekin    by    invitation    of    the 

♦  Tennyson's  Lockjley  Ilall. 


40 


EVIDENCES   OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


lit  ' 


m 


emperor,  and  thiit  he  died  soon  after  his  arrival  there, 
not  without  strong  suspicions  of  poison.  But  it  may  be 
that  the  three  systems  liad  the  less  to  cause  dissension, 
as  they  occupied  dirtcrcnt  portions  of  the  neld  of  human 
thought.  Tlieir  doctrines  do  not  appear  contradictory 
to  each  other,  but  each  of  them  limited,  and  all  unsatis- 
factory. Neither  of  them,  nor  all  combined,  can  satisfy 
the  wants  of.  the  human  soul.  Their  insufficiency,  and 
the  power  of  Christianity  to  supply  it,  are  well  repre- 
sented in  the  words  of  Professor  Maurice. 

"  If  you  did  hear  of  a  people  which  had  for  ages  the 
stronsfest  conviction  that  the  authoritv  of  the  Father  was 
the  one  foundation  of  society,  but  had  never  been  able 
to  connect  this  conviction  with  the  acknowledgment  of 
anything  mysterious  and  divine ;  of  a  society  which  for 
ages  has  not  been  able  to  prevent  a  certain  body  of  its 
subjects  from  dreaming  that  there  is  a  mysterious  and 
divine  Word  or  lleason  speaking  to  the  wise  man,  out 
of  which  dream,  however,  no  fruits  had  proceeded  but 
impostures  and  delusions ;  if  you  were  told,  that  into 
the  heart  of  this  society  Buddhism  had  come,  with  its 
strange  testimony  of  a  Si)irit  in  the  human  race,  the 
ordinary  manifestations  of  which  are  seen  in  very  igno- 
rant priests,  its  perfect  manifestation  often  in  an  infant ; 
if  you  heard  that  these  doctrines  had  never  been  able  to 
combine,  and  yet  that  no  one  could  succeed  in  banishing 
the  other  from  an  empire  in  w^hich  order  and  unity  are 
prized  as  the  highest  blessings  of  all ;  nay^  that  expe- 
rience had  proved  to  reluctant  sages  that  none  of  these 
elements  of  discord  could  safely  be  extinguished,  that 
each  was  in  some  strange  way  needful  to  the  permanence 
of  that  which  it  seemed  to  undermine ;  —  and  if  after 


RELIGIONS  OTHER  THAN   CHRISTIAN. 


41 


i'1 


r  i 


% 


this  you  heard  of  a  faith  which  assumed  that  the  ground 
of  all  things  and  all  men  is  a  Father ;  that  He  has  spoken 
and  does  speak  by  his  Filial  Word  to  the  hearts  and 
spirits  of  men,  so  making  them  wise,  and  separating 
them  from  what  is  base  and  vain  ;  that  this  Filial  Word 
has  been  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  men,  and  has 
given  them  power  to  become  sons  of  God ;  and  that 
through  Him  a  Spirit  is  given  to  dwell  with  men,  to 
raise  up  a  new  spirit  in  them,  to  unite  them  to  each 
other,  to  make  them  living  portions  of  a  living  body  ;  — 
if,  I  say,  these  two  sets  of  facts  were  presented  to  you 
side  by  side,  would  not  you  feel  there  was  some  strange 
adaptation  in  the  one  to  the  other ;  that  there  was  in 
the  last  the  secret  principle  and  power  for  which  it  was 
evident  from  the  former  that  China  had  through  cen- 
turies  been  askinsj  in  vain  ?  "  * 

The  systems  we  have  examined,  with  that  of  classic 
mythology,  and  the  Persian  belief  in  the  two  contending 
powers  of  good  and  evil,  and  the  wild  fancies  of  the 
Icelandic  Edda,  all  present  a  contrast  to  Christianity  in 
many  obvious  aspects.  One  alone  we  shall  point  out, 
but  that  one  includes  the  rest.  These  systems  are  all 
partial,  Christianity  is  universal.  The  Persian  religion 
takes  but  a  partial  view  of  evil,  not  discerning  that 
Divine  wisdom  uses  it  as  the  means  of  good.  The 
Greek  mythology  is  limited  by  its  realistic  character. 
It  is  the  worship  of  substantial  forms,  men  and  women, 
only  of  greater  strength  and  more  ethereal  frame,  dwell- 
ing  in   a   local    habitation.      The    Hindoo    system   is 


♦  The  Religions  of  the  "World,  and  their  Relations  to  Christianity. 
By  Frederick  Denison  Maurice,  M.  A.,  &c.    Pages  223,  224. 


42 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


limited    on   the    side  of  mysticism,  acknowledging  an 
all-embracing  but  impersonal   Divine  essence,  —  and, 
subordinate  to  this,  the  personification  of  the  elements 
and  of  divine  attributes.     Buddhism  resembles  this  in 
its  Pantheistic  tendency,  and  recognizes  no  living  and 
active   God  beyond  a  deified    mortal ;    and    the    state 
religion  of  China  is  little  beyond  a  state  system  of  mor- 
als.    Even  Mohammedanism,  derived  as  it  is  from  the 
reliirion  of  the  Bible,  has  been  untrue  to  its  oriiijin  in 
representing  God  too  exclusively  as  sovereign.     In  con- 
trast to  these,  we  find   in  Christianity  the  doctrine  of 
One  Supreme  God,  who  tills  all  space,  and  is  incon- 
ceivable in  the  greatness  of  his  attributes,  but  who  yet 
loves  the  beyigs  he  has  made ;  who  exercises  over  them 
a  just  government,  yet  hears  their  prayers  and  merci- 
fully accepts  their   penitence ;   who,  while  our  Divine 
Sovereign,  is  yet  our  Father  in  Heaven.     As  we  have 
seen,  in   the  extract  given  from  Maurice,  the  various 
systems  prevalent    in  China,  corresponding  each   to   a 
distinct  portion  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  so  it  is  with 
the  other  beliefs  of  mankind.     Each  of  the  systems  of 
Paganism  has   its   part;    Christianity  has    the    whole. 
The  object  which  religion  presents  is  too  vast  for  the 
human  mind,  without  distinct  divine  assistance,  to  con- 
template in  all  its  aspects.     Zoroaster  beheld  it  on  one 
side,  Sakya-muni  on  another,  the  Greek  on  a  third,  and 
the  Arabian  on  a  fourth  ;  the  Son  of  God  alone,  "  who 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,"  presents  to  us,  in  his 
instructions  and  in  his  life,  the  being  who  is  at  once  the 
Persian's  Source  of  Light,  the  Buddhist's  Infinite  Es- 
sence, the  majestic  liulcr  of  heaven  as  beheld  by  the 
Greek,  and  the  Sovereign  of  mankind  as  contemplated 


I 


RELIGIONS   OTHER  THAN   CHRISTIAN. 


43 


by  Mohammed,  wdiile  all  these  conceptions  are  tran- 
scended and  perfected  in  that  of  the  Father,  who  "  so 
loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son." 

We  have  next  to  remark  in  relation  to  the  various 
systems  of  religion  which  we  have  examined,  that  they 
all  bear  traces  of  an  original  Monotheism.  Nor  is  it 
the  case  with  these  alone.  We  need  not  investigate  all 
the  systems  of  brutal  idolatry  that  have  at  any  time  dis- 
graced humanity.  It  would  seem  a  waste  of  time  to 
compare  Christianity  with  these.  Yet  the  rudest  Feti- 
chism  which  worships  stocks  and  stones,  seems  the  relic 
of  a  forgotten  doctrine  of  a  universally  pervading  divine 
presence,  and  if  universally  pervading,  necessarily  One. 
The  Classic  System,  amidst  its  multitude  of  gods,  still 
subjected  all  the  mythologic  family  to  the  sway  of  Ju- 
piter, "  the  Father  of  gods  and  men.'*  In  the  Scandi- 
navian mythology,  Odin,  the  supreme  ruler  of  the 
existing  world,  is  himself  to  be  destroyed,  with  all  the 
mythologic  family,  in  the  great  rebellion  of  Loke  ;  but 
the  catastrophe  brings  before  us  the  mention  of  a  Being 
far  greater.  "Then  the  powerful,  the  valiant,  he  who 
governs  all  things,  comes  out  from  his  lofty  abode,  and 
renders  divine  justice."* 

In  the  religion  of  the  ancient  Persians,  notwithstand- 
ing the  recognition  of  Ahriman,  the  Power  of  Evil,  as 
the  rival  of  Ormuzd,  the  traces  of  original  Monotheism 
are  distinct ;  for  both  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman  alike  pro- 
ceed from  Zerouane,  Time  without  bounds,  —  or,  in  one 
word,  the  Infinite. 

We  find  then,  everywhere,  traces  of  an  original  doctrine 


*  Edda,  quoted  in  Butler's  Horae  Biblicae. 


44 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


of  One  God ;  and  we  find  everywhere  but  in  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  Jewish  and  Mohammedan  systems  wliich 
are  connected  with  it,  that  this  doctrine  lias  become  cor- 
rupted. If  then  the  tendency  of  mankind  lias  been  thus 
generally  to  Polytheism,  whence  came  that  original  idea 
of  One  God  ?  Men  could  not  have  developed  it  for 
themselves ;  developed  it,  too,  or  generally,  so  all  but 
universally,  when  their  tendency  has  manifestly  lain  in 
the  opposite  direction.  The  inquiry  brings  us  back  to 
the  Bible  statement  of  an  original  revelation,  an  inter- 
course of  the  Divine  Being  with  early  patriarchs,  preced- 
ing the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  dispensations.  We 
might  conceive  the  idea  of  some  superior  Being  or  Be- 
ings to  be  intuitive  ;  but  we  cannot  believe  this  respect- 
ing the  idea  of  One  God,  when  the  tendency  of  the 
human  mind  was  always  to  turn  to  the  worship  of 
many. 

There  was  then,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  an  orin-inal 
revelation  to  mankind.  This  conclusion,  to  which  we 
thus  arrive,  from  observing  its  traces  in  man's  subse- 
quent religious  history,  is  not  a  priori  incredible  nor 
improbable,  if  a  creative  act  be  admitted.  For  such  an 
act  would  be  in  itself  miraculous ;  that  is,  it  would  be 
an  act  of  the  Supreme,  out  of  the  common  course  of 
nature.*  If  we  believe  then  in  the  miracle  of  man's 
creation,  we  may  well  believe  also  in  that  of  his  instruc- 
tion. That  the  Almighty  should  give  to  the  being  he 
had  made,  some  knowledge  of  the  source  from  whence 
he  came,  and  the  purpose  for  which  he  was  designed, 
is  no  more  than  might  be  naturally  expected  of  creative 


RELIGIONS  OTHER  THAN   CHRISTIAN. 


45 


goodness.     There  was  then,   we  more  fully  conclude, 
an  original  revelation. 

From  this  conclusion,  two  others  of  great  importance 
follow. 

First,  this  result  directly  confirms  the  religion  of  the 
Bible,  because  the  truth  of  an  original  revelation  is 
stated  there.  Whatever  interpretation  is  put  upon  the 
narratives  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  it  cannot  be  questioned 
that  they  represent  the  human  race  as  in  its  earliest  ex- 
istence, ruled  and  instructed  by  its  Creator  in  an  especial 
manner.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  patriarchal  reli- 
gion, according  to  those  accounts,  was  the  belief  in  One 
God.  When  we  find,  therefore,  the  earliest  narratives  of 
the  Scriptures  coinciding  in  their  representations  with 
what  wa  learn  from  another  source  to  be  the  truth,  we 
are  encouraged  to  trust  their  later  testimony  as  alike 
true,  and  to  give  credit  to  the  claim  of  especial  divine 
revelation  for  the  religion  they  communicate. 

Secondly,  if  the  fact  of  an  original  revelation  is  estab- 
lished, or  rendered  in  any  degree  probable,  then  to  the 
same  degree,  the  strongest  objection  against  the  super- 
natural authority  of  Christianity  is  removed.  For  the 
objection  that  is  most  felt  in  this  age  is  to  miracles,  regard- 
ed as  an  interruption  of  the  common  course  of  nature. 
But  if  such  an  interruption  has  once  taken  place,  it  may 
occur  again.  The  improbability  is,  indeed,  so  far 
removed,  that  there  comes  instead  of  it  an  antecedent 
probability  that  God,  who  had  once  interfered  for  the 
guidance  of  his  children,  would  afford  that  guidance 
again,  if  at  any  time  it  should  be  equally  needed. 


♦  Manual,  §  2,  page  4. 


46 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ReVELxVTION,   rilOIITIVE   AND   JewISII. 

Shelley,  in  the  notes  to  his  atheistic  poem  of  "  Queen 
IVlab,"  quotes  in  capitals,  as  if  the  question  were  un- 
answerable,  the   foHowing   sentence   from   D'llolbach's 
''Systeme  dc  hi  Nature:"  "  S'il  a  parle,  pourquoi  Tuni- 
versn'est-ilpasconvaincu?"  "If  he  (God)  has  spoken, 
wliy    is  not  the  universe  convinced?"     The   objection 
these  words  convey  against  revehation  is  probably  felt  by 
many.     It  might  be  expressed  at  length  in  such  terms 
as  these  :  "  If  the  Creator  of  the  world  saw  fit  to  reveal 
himself  to  his  children,  would  he  not  make  the  commu- 
nication alike  to  all,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  it  could 
not  be  misunderstood?     Would  he  not  write  his  com- 
mands in  letters  of  living  light  upon  the  heavens,  where 
all   could  not  but  read?     Nay,  has  he  not  in  fact  been 
thus   impartial?     Does  not  nature,  does  not  his  voice 
within  us,  reveal  all  that  we  need  to  know?     And  would 
\  wise  and  just  Being  choose  one  obscure  nation  as  the 
peculiar    objects   of  his    care,   and   depositaries    of   his 

revealed  will  ?  " 

If  we  take  the  doctrines  of  natural  religion,  as  they 
have  been  given  to  us  by  the  great  writers  of  ancient  or 
of  moderu  times,  we  find  in  them  sublime  truths,  to 
which  our  hearts  readily  yield  assent.  We  learn  that 
all  nature  testifies  to  the  existence,  the  eternity,  omnip- 


REVELATION,   primitive   and  JEWISH. 


47 


1 


otence,  and  other  exalted  attributes  of  the  Most  High; 
to  the  excellence  of  virtue,  and  the  reality  of  its  great 
reward  in  a  future  life  ;  and  we  are  on  the  point  of 
admitting  the  force  of  the  challenging  question.  If  nature 
teaches  all  these  truths,  what  need  is  there  of  a  revela- 
tion ? 

We  hear,  too,  in  these  days,  much  of  the  teaching  of 
God's    Si)irit    to    all    mankind.     Many    who    deny    the 
authority  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  revelations  do  not 
hesitate  to  admit  that  Moses  and  Jesus  were  inspired ; 
but  they  claim  that  every  good  man  is  inspired  also.     In 
former  times,  it  was  the  ignorant  fanatic,  who,  unable  to 
read  the  Bible,  declared  that  he  had  no  need  of  it,  and 
asserted  a  personal  inspiration  for  every  wild  fancy  of 
his  own.     But  now  the  claim  of  such  inspiration  is  made 
by  accomplished  scholars,  and  not  for  tliemselves  alone, 
but  for  all  mankind.     Here,  then,  is  a  second  source  of 
knowledge,  which  seems  amply  sufficient.     What  need 
of  a  miraculous  revelation  by  Moses  or  by  Christ,  when 
nature  teaches  all   tliat  we  need  to  know,  and  when, 
besides  this,  the  voice  of  God  is  always  testifying  of  his 
truth  to  every  human  heart? 

Before,  however,  we  withdraw  from  the  guidance  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  us  inquire  how  this  double 
leadership  of  nature  and  of  the  Spirit  sufficed  for  man- 
kind before  the  birth  of  our  Savior.  Had  nature,  or 
had  any  voice  within  the  soul,  taught  the  great  doctrines 
of  religion  to  all  men  alike  ?  If  so,  why  were  all  nations 
except  the  Jews  sunk  in  idolatry,  paying  w^orship  to  the 
host  of  heaven,  to  the  powers  of  nature,  to  their  own 
passions  personified,  to  forms  of  the  animal  and  even  of 
the  vegetable  creation,  to  stocks  and  stones,  to  anything 


li-^ 


48 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


rather  than  to  the  one  living  and  true  God  ?     Why  is  it 
that  to  this  day,  everywhere,  beyond  the  influence  of  the 
Jewish  and  Christian  reHgions,  a  similar  idolatry  pre- 
vails?    Why,  in  ancient  times,  did  those  philosophers 
who  had  left  the  gross  superstitions  of  their  countrymen, 
wander  into  errors  of  ditibrent  kinds,  some  maintaining 
that  pleasure  was  the  only  good,  while  others  turned 
from  it  with  ascetic  scorn  ;  some  ascribing  the  rule  over 
all  things  to  a  fate  that  controlled  the  actions  of  gods 
and  men,  and  others  declaring  that  there  was  no  God, 
and  that  the  universe  was  merely  the  result  of  chance? 
Why,  even  at  present,  in  the  most  enlightened  nations, 
and  with  all  the  instruction  which  Judaism  and  Chris- 
tianity have  incidentally  furnished,  do  those  who  are 
thought  to  be  foremost  in  wisdom  appear  to  wander  in 
darkness  the  moment  they  reject  the  faith  of  the  gospel, 
one  denying  the  belief  in  a  future  life,  another  rejecting 
the  being  of  a  God,  and  others  yet,  under  the  pretence 
of  superior  purity,  setting  aside  the  most  common  prin- 
ciples of  virtuous  conduct  ?     Is  this  the  boasted  teaching 
of  nature,  which  leads  now  to  superstition,  and  now  to 
atheism  ?     Was  there  no  occasion  that  God  should  speak 
by  Moses,  when,  in  Egypt,  then  the  most  enlightened 
country  in  the  world,  the  mass  of  the  people  worshipped 
calves,  and  dogs,  and  vegetables  ;  and  the  priesthood,  if 
better  instructed,  went  on  teaching  a  religion  that  they 
knew  was  a  lie?     No.     There  is,  we  admit,  such  a  thing 
as  natural  religion ;  there  is  a  divine    voice  in  every 
human  heart.     But  that  voice  must  be  listened  for  with 
reverence  ;  it  does  not  infalUbly  teach  either  the  ignorant 
savage  or  the  self-sufHcient  sage ;  and  the  teachings  of 
natural  religion,  plainly  as  they  now  commend  them- 


I 


REVELATION,    PRIMITIVE   AND  JEWISH. 


49 


selves  to   the    understanding,   were  never  clearly  and 
fully  declared,  until  they  found  utterance  from  inspired 

lips. 

Man  needs,  then,  a  revelation.  It  is  the  belief  of 
Christians  that  this  need  has  been  met  at  three  distinct 
periods  of  the  world's  history ;  —  first,  in  primitive  or 
patriarchal  times  ;  next,  in  the  comnmnications  made  to 
the  Israelitish  race  ;  and  lastly,  in  the  life  and  teachings 
of  Jesus  Christ.  It  matters  not  to  our  present  purpose, 
that  from  some  points  of  view,  these  may  appear  con- 
tinuous—  the  patriarchal  shading  oif  into  the  Jewish, 
and  this  into  the  Christian.  This  fact,  if  rightly  con- 
templated, shows  the  continuity  and  consistency  of  the 
divine  dealings  ;  but  the  periods  remain  sufficiently  dis- 
tinct to  be  separately  treated. 

Of  the  Primitive  Kcvelation,  our  assurance  rests  most 
distinctly  on  the  testimony  of  Scripture.  This  informs 
us  of  divine  communications  made  to  Adam  and  to 
Noah,  both  represented  as  ancestors  of  the  whole  human 
race ;  and  whatever  allegorical  or  mythical  explanation 
may  be  given  to  these  narratives  of  primitive  times,  the 
purpose  of  the  sacred  writers  is  sufficiently  clear,  to 
teach  that  God  revealed  himself  to  the  fathers  of  man- 
kind. We  have  found  a  confirmation  of  this  truth  while 
examining  the  heathen  systems  of  religion ;  for  their 
tendency,  being  everywhere  downward,  indicates  the 
heiirht  of  their  source.  If  the  efforts  of  the  human 
mind  in  India,  through  ages  of  comparative  civilization, 
have  but  corrupted  more  and  more  the  original  Mono- 
theism, it  is  not  likely  that  the  human  mind,  unassisted, 
discovered  that  Monotheism  in  the  barbarous  ages  that 
preceded ;  and  when  we  find  the  testimony  of  India  con- 


»"" 


I*' 

ill,.' 

■Ir, 


50  EVIDENCES  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 

The  bcstowmcnt  of  this  matcnully  attects  tl  c  char 
JartiaUty  which  is  brought  against  the  rehg.on  of  the 

^  Ti^etrirovclation  ruust  have  bee.  given  to  the 
J;Lrsofann.a„.na;Jorthet^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

^tZ  nSglellr  aeniea,  it  re.na.s  c^^^^^^ 
that  the  progenitors  of  the  race  were  few  m  number,  m 
lot  arlon  with  the  nnllions  of  their  descendants.     In- 
Z  tTon  "iven  to  tl>cse  few,  then,  would  be  commum- 
catcd  to  th    r  children.     But  at  any  subsequent  per^d 
when  the  earth  was  generally  inhabited,  the  idea  of  a 
r'Tvcr  al  retelation  becomes  more  difficult  to  conceue. 
:  rt;l;aoation  must  be  f-ulous    wither    y  an 
outward  voice,  or  by  any  other  s.gn,  f--  ^-^JJ 
on  earth.     Then,  as  no  nation  is  to  be  dist  ngu.shea 
above  another,  each  one  must  have  its  prophe    or  its 

MessHh    aiffl  is  own  series  of  miracles,  to  establish  his 
Messiah,  ana  ^^  ^^^^^^  ^^^,^^3 

commission.     And  w  hen  uiu  1  =pnarate 

insnired  leaders  met  on  the  boundaries  of  their  separate 
rellms!  a  constant  miracle  would  be  required  to  prcv  nt 
vTiim  e  and  jealousy  among  those  who  had  heard  the 
dh  rmessagJ  from  difTerent  lips.     Again   the  welder 
lou"ht  by  each  holy  messenger,  though  they  n  ight 
n   V  \l  authoiity  with  those  who  witnessed  thero, 
::St   Iss  1 12  weight  with  others.     If  all.  then. 
Ire   o        e  the  same  advantages,  these  miraculous  signs 
nustbe  multiplied  for  the  personal  instruction  of  all. 
Td  as  t^;  memory  of  them  would  grow  dun  with  time. 


REVELATION,    PRIMITIVE   AND   JEWISH. 


51 


tlic  necessity  of  impartial  favor  to  each  generation  would 
require  that  the  miracles  should  be  repeated  from  age  to 
ao-e.  Then  if  the  miracles  were  not  unanswerably  con- 
vincing,  their  purpose  would  not  be  fulfilled ;  if  they 
were,  faith  would  be  forced,  not  free;  the  voluntary 
action  of  the  pious  will  in  giving  its  adhesion  to  the 
truth  would  be  forestalled,  and  only  a  slavish  obedience 
could  be  rendered  to  an  overwhelming  evidence.  Yet 
that  evidence,  if  it  forbade  doubt,  could  not  excite  deep, 
reverential  interest.  ]Miracles  would  be  matters  of  too 
common  occurrence  for  this.  Taking  place  continually, 
or  at  stated  intervals,  they  would  lose  the  dignity  of 
divine  interpositions.  They  would  become,  as  it  were, 
a  part  of  the  course  of  nature,  only  retaining  enough  of 
singularity  and  abruptness  seriously  to  interfere  with  the 
confidence  of  mankind  in  the  stability  of  nature's  laws. 
That  these  laws  will  be  regularly  maintained,  that  the 
order  of  external  things  will  be  tlie  same  to-morrow  that 
it  was  yesterday,  is  most  important  to  human  happiness, 
and  even  to  human  life.  It  is  only  thus  that  we  can 
have  assurance  that  a  given  course  of  conduct  will  pro- 
duce its  proper  results,  and  thus  be  encouraged  to  do 
right,  and  warned  against  what  is  wrong.  But  if  mir- 
acles were  things  of  every  day,  all  this  confidence  would 
be  lost.  We  find  this  exemplified  in  reading  those 
works  of  antique  literature,  into  which  supernatural 
machinery  enters  largely  ;  such,  for  instance,  as  Tasso's 
"  elerusalem  Delivered."  Surrounded  on  every  side 
with  siuns  and  wonders,  here  with  nin^ic  power,  and 
there  with  divine  interpositions,  we  perceive  that  the 
common  rules  of  life  are  set  asi<le.  It  is  nut  zeal  or 
valor  that  can  be  depended  on  to  win  the  battle,  but  the 


I. 


52 


EVIDENCES  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


nii-lit  of  some  maoician  on  the  one  side,  or  guardian 
an-el  on  the  other.  Thus  would  it  be,  to  the  perd  of 
airconsistent  judgment,  all  free  choice,  and  all  manly 
enercry,  if  miracles  were  rendered  counnon  ;  and  com- 
inon'they  must  be,  if  the  revelation  God  has  given  is  to 
be  communicated  in  the  same  manner,  and  with  the 
same  advantages  for  receiving  it,  to  all  his  children,  of 
every  nation,  and  in  every  age  of  the  world. 

And  such  a  system,  however  it  might  commend  itselt 
to  the  minds  of  theorizing  philosophers,  is  not  conform- 
able to  the  divine  method  of  instructing  the  human  race, 
as  we  discover  that  method  from  the  analogy  of  natui'e. 
It  is  not  the  i)lan  of  Providence  to  act  on  the  dead  level 
of  a  measured  e.piality.     On  the  contrary,  variety  of 
advantages  appears  to  be  tlie  very  law  of  God's  dealings 
with  mankind.     Scarce  two  nations  are  precisely  equal 
with  rcnard  to  the  degree  of  civilization  they  have  at- 
tained. ""  The  Eastern  Hemisphere  had  been  the  abode 
of  culture  in  art  and  science  for  thousands  of  years  be- 
fore our  Western  World  was  discovered  ;  yet,  even  there, 
portions,  as  the  interior  of  Africa,  are  still  in  midnight 
darkness.      So,  too,  it  is  with  the  knowledge  which  nature 
yields  us  of  the  Divine  lieing.     God's  power  and  wisdom 
are  inscribed  ui>on  the  heavens.     The  stars  as  they  roll 
show  forth  the  ohirv  of  Him  who   made  them;  and  it 
would   seem  as  if  here,  indeed,  was  a  revelation  that, 
bcin'-  open  to  the  eyes  of  all,  was  given  with  perfect 
imprrtiality.     But  how  differently  is  that  revelation  of 
God  in  nature  api)rcciated  and  understood  !     The  savage 
tribes   understand  it  not.     They  see  the  glorious  arch 
above  glow,  night  after   night,   with    its   innumerable 
li<.hts ;  but  they  have  never  been  taught  to  infer  from  it 


REVELATION,    PRIMITIVE   AND  JEWISH. 


53 


the  existence  of  a  creative  spirit ;  and  if  the  mighty  les- 
son cannot  be  entirely  unread,  yet  are  their  ideas  of  its 
meaning  inadequate  and  obscure.  The  magnificent 
spectacle  is  meant  for  all  God's  human  offspring  to  profit 
by  at  leugtli ;  but  generations  unnumbered  have  passed, 
and  other  generations  will  pass,  before  the  knowledge 
of  its  mysteries  shall  be  conferred  alike  on  all. 

But  an  objection  yet  remains.  We  may  give  up,  it 
may  be  said,  the  idea  of  a  perfect  equality  in  the  divine 
communication  of  knowledge.  If  a  revelation  was  to 
be  made,  once  for  all,  of  course  some  must  be  nearer  to 
it,  in  place  or  in  time,  than  others.  But  that  God 
should  select  one  nation,  as  he  is  said  to  have  chosen 
the  Jews,  should  have  made  them  his  own  peculiar  peo- 
ple, given  them  laws  for  their  guidance,  sent  prophets 
to  remonstrate  with  them  when  they  went  astray,  pro- 
tected them  in  captivity  and  brought  tliein  back  to  free- 
dom, while  all  the  other  nations,  more  powerful  and 
more  cultivated,  were  left  in  the  darkness  of  idolatry, 
this  surely  would  prove  a  partiality  inconsistent  with  the 
justice  and  benevolence  of  the  divine  character. 

Would  it  prove  this,  we  may  ask  in  return,  if  it 
should  appear  that  a  revelation  of  God's  will  was  orig- 
inally made  to  all,  and  that  it  was  only  by  their  own 
fault  that  other  races  lost  that  inheritance  of  God's  vis- 
ible favor  which  Abraham  and  his  descendants  retained? 
We  have  seen  the  proof  that  there  was  an  original  and 
impartial  revelation  ;  but  the  world  at  large  forsook  the 
worsliip  of  the  living  and  true  God.  Abraham  remained 
faithful  to  it ;  and  he  left  that  faithfulness,  as  at  once  a 
solemn  charge  and  a  precious  heir-loom  to  his  children- 
He  and  his  race  were  not  selected  arbitrarily,  nor  other 


54 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


IlKVIXATION,    PrjMITIVE  AND   JEWISH. 


55 


tribes  arbitrarily  cxcludcJ ;  but,  all  having  been  treated 
alike  at  fir^^t,  they  who  turned  to  idolatry  were  only  left 
in  the  darkness  they  had  ehosen,  while  the  faithful  pa- 
triarch was  favored  with  an  increase  of  the  liijht  he  loved. 

o 

The  selection  of  Israel,  then,  appears  no  longer  incon- 
sistent with  justice,  or  with  the  usual  course  of  God's 
providence.  It  was,  in  the  Divine  Being,  justice,  not 
partiidity,  that  conferred  on  faithfulness  its  appropriate 
l)lessing,  making  the  chosen  race  the  depositaries  of 
divine  instruction  in  degrees  still  higher,  and  protecting 
them  throuLih  the  varied  course  of  their  national  exist- 
eucc,  until  the  time  should  come  for  conferring,  through 
their  means,  on  other  races  also,  the  blessing  which  had 
hitherte  been  their  own. 

Again,  the  selection  of  the  Jewish  race  for  the  recep- 
tion, development,  and  extension  of  religious  truth,  par- 
tial as  it  may  seem,  is  in  strict  analogy  to  the  actual 
working  of  the  Almighty's  plans,  in  other  departments 
of  the  traininir  of  niankind.  Other  nations  besides  the 
Hebrews  liave  had  their  own  peculiar  tasks  and  privi- 
leges. Greece  gave  to  the  world  the  love  of  beauty, 
alike  in  literature  and  art.  Hers  were  the  i^reat  master- 
pieces  of  epic,  dramatic,  and  lyric  poetry ;  hers  the 
great  trium[)hs  of  oratory  ;  hers  the  development  of  a 
nobler  grace  in  scul[)ture  than  the  colossal  but  rude 
images  of  Egypt  had  ever  possessed ;  hers  the  achieve- 
ments in  architecture  that  make  the  ruins  of  her  temples 
still  the  admiration  of  the  world.  Rome,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  the  great  teacher  in  the  art  of  ruling.  What 
her  poet  said  of  her  near  two  thousand  years  ago  —  that 
the  task  of  Home  was  to  oovern  the  nations  —  is  true 
even  yet,  through  the  intluence  of  Roman  law  upon  the 


ii 


in.<titutions  of  many  a  land.  Thus  did  God  assign  to 
the  Jewish  race  to  be  the  leaders  of  mankind  in  reliaious 
knowledge  and  religious  feeling.  That  leadership  they 
hold,  uncpiestionably.  Till  any  other  portion  of  the 
great  family  of  man  can  produce  hymns  as  lofty  as  the 
Psalms  of  David,  or  representations  of  the  Almighty  as 
sublime  and  as  true  as  the  strains  of  Isaiah,  the  reliirious 
pre-eminence  of  the  Hebrevr  race  must  be  admitted.  It 
is  unquestionable  that  providentially  they  were  God's 
chosen  instruments  for  declaring  divine  truth ;  and  if 
providentially,  wherefore  not  also  miraculously  ? 

We  find  in  the  selection  of  the  Hebrew  race  to  be 
the  depositaries  of  sacred  truth  an  analogy  still  closer 
to  the  dealings  of  Providence.  Observing  the  course  of 
history  from  the  earliest  ages,  among  Gentiles  as  well  as 
Jews,  \\c  find  everywhere  some  persons  exercising  the 
priestly  ofKce,  the  instructors  of  their  fellow-men  in 
matters  of  religion.  Often  we  find  especial  families  or 
races  of  men  chosen,  the  Brahmins  among  the  Hindoos, 
no  less  than  the  race  of  Aaron  among  the  Israelites,  to 
bear  testimony  before  all  the  people  to  the  existence  of 
something  unseen,  but  superior  to  all  else.  Thus,  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  the  Hebrews  were  the  priestly 
nation.  As  the  individual  priest  in  the  community,  as 
the  house  of  Levi  among  the  twelve  tribes,  as  the  house 
of  Aaron  in  the  tribe  of  Levi,  so  was  the  nation  itself, 
among  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  deputed  to  receive 
the  heavenly  treasure,  and  communicate  it  to  all  the  rest. 
The  Christian  revelation,  indeed,  abolished  this  distinc- 
tion. Under  it  the  true  priesthood  of  the  earth  con- 
sists not  of  the  descendants  of  any  one  tribe  or  nation, 
but  of  the  sincere  followers  of  Christ.     Thus  speaks  an 


56 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


REVELATION,    PRIMITIVE   AND   JE^VISH. 


57 


apostle :  "  Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priest- 
hood, a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people."  *  Our  Savior, 
we  are  told,  "  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God."t 
But  it  has  been  well  observed  that  our  Lord,  in  his  lan- 
guage respecting  the  new  birth,  "gathers  up  the  very 
meaning  of  the  old  dispensation,  shows  us  what  a  truth 
was  involved  in  every  part  of  it,  how  every  part  had 
been  prepared  for  the  full  revelation  of  this  truth.  His 
coming  was,  no  doubt,  to  destroy  the  barrier  between 
Jew  and  Gentile,  but  not  till  that  barrier  had  been 
proved  to  have  its  justification  in  the  very  condition  and 
being  of  man,  in  his  relation  to  Gud  and  to  the  world. 
If  there  is  a  flesh  in  man,  by  obedience  to  which  he  be- 
comes degraded,  sensual,  idolatrous, — if  he  naturally  is 
obedient  to  this  flesh,  and  can  only  attain  the  rights  of 
a  spiritual  creature  when  the  Lord  of  all  raises  him 
above  his  nature,  above  himself, —  then  we  can  understand 
why  a  whole  nation  should  have  been  called  by  its  posi- 
tion in  reference  to  other  nations,  by  its  strength  and 
weakness,  righteousness  and  sins,  by  the  experience  of 
all  its  individual  members,  to  set  forth  this  mighty  fact, 
in  which  the  eternal  destinies  of  mankind  must  be  in- 
volved." X 

The  selection  of  the  Jews  as  the  peculiar  people  of 
God  was  not,  then,  for  their  own  sake  alone.  To  keep 
alive  on  earth  the  belief  in  his  own  existence,  in  his 
attributes  of  unity,  spirituality,  power,  and  love,  until 
other  branches  of  the  human  race  should  be  prepared  to 
receive  tliat  belief,  was  the  great  purpose  which  God 

*  1  Peter  ii.  9.  f  Rev.  i.  G. 

X  Maurice,  l{elif,nons  of  tlie  Workl,  and  their  delations  to  Christi- 
anity.    Part  II.     Lecture  II.     Page  I8G. 


accomplished  by  the  selection  of  Israel.  Abraham, 
found  faithful  in  a  faithless  generation,  left  his  idola- 
trous kindred,  that  he  and  his  miglit  retain  their  purity 
of  worship.  To  liini,  then,  the  promise  was  given,  not 
only  of  the  number  and  glory  of  his  own  descendants, 
but  that  in  his  seed  should  "all  nations  of  the  earth  be 
blessed."  For  long  ages  the  prediction  remained  un- 
fulfilled. If  we  can  iniatj^inc  a  celestial  beiiii'-  conteni- 
plating  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants  through  those  ages, 
we  may  conceive  that  to  hira  the  purpose  of  Divine 
Providence  may  have  been  deeply  mysterious.  He 
would  see  far  and  wide  through  the  earth  the  appalling 
and  impure  rites  of  heathen  worship,  —  here  parents 
sacrificing  their  children  to  Moloch,  there  festivals  held 
in  honor  of  Ashtaroth,  the  Syrian  Venus,  accompanied 
with  acts  of  vile  debauchery.  In  one  land  alone  would 
he  witness  the  worship  of  a  spiritual  God,  recognized  as 
the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  a  Being  whose  eyes 
were  too  pure  to  behold  iniquity.  Over  every  altar  in 
other  realrhs  would  he  perceive  some  image ;  in  one 
country  a  human  form  of  matchless  grace,  in  another 
some  grotesque  combination  of  various  animals,  or  a 
many-headed  or  many-handed  monster ;  but  at  the  one 
altar  in  Jerusalem  would  he  see  neither  statue  nor  paint- 
ing, for  the  God  that  was  worshipped  there  had  forbid- 
den any  such  degrading  representations  of  his  invisible, 
inconceivable  majesty.  And  what  would  strike  our 
beholder  most  with  amazement  would  be,  that  while  in 
other  lands  men  pursued  their  course  of  error  with  no 
voice  to  bid  them  pause,  around  that  altar  at  Jerusalem 
were  prophets  speaking  in  the  name  of  God,  and  by 
admonitions  and  warnings  restraining  tlie  people  from 


58 


EVIDKNCKS   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


GREEK   AND   ROMAN   CIVILIZATION. 


59 


lilC''  Bi! 

■*■■■       I- 


I 


followinf^  the  evil  example  of  other  nations.  Well  miglit 
the  anoeHc  spectator  exchiim,  'MV^hy  is  this?  Why 
has  the  favor  of  the  Ahniiihty  thus  been  granted  to  a 
sin^^le  race?  Whv  this  sacred  liiilit  oiven  only  to  Jiidah, 
and  withheld  from  every  other  section  of  the  world?" 
"  These  things,"  said  an  apostle,  "  the  angels  desire  to 
look  into."  But  how  woidd  the  douI)ts  of  the  inquiring 
spirit  be  removed,  and  his  anxiety  be  changed  to  joy  and 
praise,  if  it  was  granted  him  to  perceive  that  all  the 
privileges  bestowed  on  Judah  were  intended,  in  the 
course  of  ages,  for  the  advantage  of  all  mankind  ;  if  he 
witnessed  at  length  the  ap})carancc  of  the  Savior,  heard 
from  his  lips  the  law  of  universal  love,  and  saw  his  dis- 
ciples going  furtli  to  declare  the  equal  privileges  of  Jew 
and  Gentile  !  Yes,  in  Jesus  Christ,  "  out  of  Zion  went 
forth  the  Law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  eJerusa- 
lem."  The  Old  Testament  dispensation  attained  its 
pur[)ose  in  the  events  of  the  New ;  and  tiien,  a»  a  plant 
that  has  borne  its  fruit,  it  faded  and  died.  Less  than 
forty  years  after  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  the'nation  that 
had  rejected  him  sank  as  a  political  power,  and  its  stately 
and  time-honored  form  of  worship  ceased,  never  a<^'';iin 
to  be  renewed.  All  that  was  partial,  all  that  was  pre- 
paratory, came  to  an  end.  The  universal  religion, 
brought  by  Jesus  Christ,  remained  and  prospered  ;  it 
conquered  the  heathenism  that,  clothed  with  imperial 
power,  assailed  it  with  ail  the  violence  of  j)crsecution  ; 
it  extended  its  sway  from  land  to  land  through  the  civ- 
ilized world  ;  the  darkness  of  barbarism  grew  li^dit  be- 
fore it ;  and,  strong  as  in  its  earliest  days,  it  still  goes 
forth,  "conquering  and  to  conquer." 


CHAPTER  III. 

Greek  and  Roman  Civilization. 

We  have,  in  the  previous  chapters,  found  cause  to 
believe  in  an  original  revelation,  communicated  by  the 
Creator  to  his  human  offspring.     We  have  seen  that  the 
belief  that  he    continued  to    manifest  himself  to   one 
especial  family  and  nation  as  he  did  not  to  the  rest  of 
mankind,  involves  nothing  contrary  to  his  impartial  jus- 
tice.    For  a  continuous  revelation  to  all  mankind  would 
have   involved  a  constant  succession  of  miracles,  and 
thus  have  interfered  with  man's  confidence  in  the  stabil- 
ity of  the  laws  of  nature,  with  his  freedom  of  choice  and 
action,  and  with  the  right  development  of  his  character; 
while  there  was  no  partiality,  but  an  action  consisteiU 
with  justice  and  analogous  to  the  course  of  Provident^e 
elsewhere,  in  leaving  the  heathen  world  to  the  darkness 
they  had  chosen,   and  conferring  on  the  faithful  patri- 
arch still  fuller  revelations,  thus  constitutinir  him  and 
his  descendants  the  priests  of  mankind,  commissioned  at 
length  to  impart  the  true  religion  to  the  world  at  lai-ge. 
It  is  the  belief  of  Christians  that  this  commission  was 
fulfilled  in  Jesus   Christ;    that  the  great  purpose  for 
which  the  Jewish  race  was  set  apart,  was  accomplished 
when  a  member  of  that  race,  divinely  called  and  quali- 
fied, proclaimed  a  religion  more  spiritual  than  that  of 
Moses,  adapted,  not,  like  that,  to  a  single  race,  but  to 
universal  reception,  and  when  his  disciples,  obeying  his 


— '   •  ^ 


rTgWf 


4 


60 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


GREEK   AND   ROMAN   CIVILIZATION. 


61 


commands,  went  forth  "into  all  the  world,"  to  "preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature." 

But  the  inqiury  recurs  with  regard  to  the  Christian 
revelation,  wiiich  first  attracted  our  attention  with  re- 
gard to  any  revelation  at  all.  Was  it  necessary  ?  We 
cannot  believe  that  God  would  interpose  in  a  remarkable 
manner  without  suitable  occasion.  Did  such  occasion 
exist  when  Jesus  came  into  the  world  ?  Philosophers 
had  then  lived,  the  greatest,  or  at  least  among  the 
greatest,  whom  the  world  has  known  —  Zoroaster,  Py- 
thaiioras,  Socrates,  Plato,  Cicero.  Great  advancement 
had  been  made  in  civilization.  Sculpture  and  painting, 
poetry  and  eloquence,  the  art  of  war  and  the  arts  of 
peace,  had  bedn  cultivated  with  a  success  which  after 
ages  have  admired  and  emulated,  but  seldom  surpassed. 
Long  years  of  discord  had  given  place  to  a  firm  and 
orderly  government.  The  world  was  at  peace.  Laws 
which,  on  the  whole,  were  wise  and  just,  were  regularly 
administered.  What  need  was  there  of  a  revelation  in 
the  rei2:n  of  Augustus? 

While,  however,  we  admit  what  the  world  had  at- 
tained, let  us  also  observe  in  what  it  was  deficient. 
Notoriously,  the  mass  of  the  people  had  no  correct  views 
of  God.  The  deities  they  worshipped  had  all  the  pas- 
sions of  men,  and  indulged  them  in  a  degree  that  would 
have  rendered  men  unendurable  by  their,  race.  Not  to 
repeat  the  well-known  tales  of  the  lawless  violence,  the 
imi)lacable  revenge,  the  shameless  impurity  of  the  other 
gods,  Jupiter  himself,  the  ruler  of  all,  the  best  repre- 
sentation heathenism  could  otlcr  of  the  infinite  majesty 
of  heaven,  was  at  one  moment  engaged  in  some  base 
intrigue,  and  at  another  sleeping,  regardless  of  his  im- 


perial office,  outwitted  by  the  crafty  Juno  wuth  the  ces- 
tus  of  Venus.* 

Such  were  the  gods  of  popular  belief.  But  in  the 
reign  of  Augustus,  the  educated  classes  had  no  faith  in 
these,  nor,  definitely,  in  any  God  at  all.  They  con- 
tinued to  appear  in  the  temples,  and  take  part  in  rites 
which  they  despised,  but  which  they  thought  useful  as  a 
mode  of  infiuencing  the  people ;  for  themselves,  some 
thought  there  were  gods,  some  that  there  was  none, 
and  the  greater  part  that  probably  there  miglit  be. 

With  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  the  state 
of  opinion  was  much  the  same.  The  mass  of  the  people 
believed  in  Elysium  and  Tartarus  —  regions^of  shadowy 
existence,  diifering  in  degrees  of  dolefulness ;  as  the 
shade  of  Achilles,  the  most  honored  in  Elysium,  told 
Ulysses  that  he  would  rather  be  slave  to  a  poor  man  on 
earth  than  reign  over  all  the  dead.f  Of  the  educated, 
some  thought  it  probable  that  there  would  be  a  future 
life  ;  but  the  greater  part  had  not  even  this  approach  to 
faith  upon  the  subject. 

Thus  the  advance  of  knowledge  and  refinement  in 
other  respects  had  failed  to  introduce  correct  views  with 
regard  to  religion.  And  the  reason  is  sufficiently  ob- 
vious. The  experience  and  observation  of  man  acquaint 
him  with  the  world  around  him,  and  with  the  world 
within.  He  learns  to  work  upon  the  materials  which 
nature  presents ;  to  cultivate  the  earth,  to  cleave  and 
carve  wood,  fuse  metals,  and  quarry  stone.  His  pro- 
cesses become  more  skilful  and  delicate  as  time  advances, 

*  Iliad,  Book  XIV.,  lines  153-351. 
t  Odyssey,  Book  XI.,  lines  487-490. 


62 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


and  he  attains  to  liiirh  excellence  in  the  arts  from  the 
guidance  of  nature  and  his  own  intelligence.  The  mind, 
too,  is  open  to  his  survey ;  and  from  the  testimony  of 
his  own  consciousness  he  can  construct  noble  theories  of 
philosophy.  But  there  is  also  a  world  above ;  and  of 
the  facts  connected  with  that  world  neither  outward 
nature  nor  inward  consciousness  affords  him  adequate 
information.  A  stronger  proof  of  this  cannot  be  needed 
than  the  fact  already  adverted  to,  that  even  now,  with 
all  the  intelliiience  that  ei^fhteen  centuries  have  added  to 
that  possessed  in  the  days  of  Augustus,  those  philoso- 
phers wlio  deny  the  Christian  revelation  are  far  from 
agreement  with  regard  to  the  most  important  truths  of 
natural  religion. 

And  if  heathenism,  whether  assisted  or  not  by  the  dim 
traditions  of  a  primitive  revelation,  had  failed  to  inform 
man  of  the  truth  respecting  the  object  of  worship,  it  had 
failed  also  in  instructing  him  how  worship  should  be 
rendered.  Idol  feasts,  especially  of  such  deities  as  Ash- 
teroth  and  Venus,  were  marked  by  the  most  debasing 
impurity.  The  hideous  custom  of  human  sacrifices  pre- 
vailed among  almost  all  the  nations  of  antiquity.  The 
two  great  epic  poets  represent  their  heroes,  Achilles  * 
and  aEneas,  as  offering  such  sacrifices  at  funeral  rites ; 
and  the  coolness  with  which  the  incident  is  mentioned 
by  Virgil  shows  that  such  crime  against  man  and  God, 
if  not  common  in  the  age  of  Augustus,  was,  at  least,  not 
regarded  with  horror.  |     The  custom  of  human  sacrifice 


*  Iliad,  Book  XXIII.,  line  175. 
t  **  Sulmone  creatos 

Quatuor  hie  juvenes,  totidem  quos  educat  Ufens, 


GREEK   AND   ROMAN    CIVIUZATION. 


63 


was  continued,  occasionally,  as  late  as  the  reign  of 
Diocletian,  and  was  therefore  abolished  only  by  the 
triumph  of  Ciu'istianity. 

With  regard  to  the  observance  of  the  moral  law,  it 
might  be  thought  that  here,  at  least,  the  instruction  of 
nature  would   be  suflftcient.     But  although   the  moral 
sense  and  conscience  of  mankind  have  alwavs  borne  tes- 
timony  to  duty,   the   history  of  heathen   nations  shows 
that  a  revelation  was  needed  here  also,  to  give  clearer 
and  fuller  views  of  right,  and  still  more,  to  supply  mo- 
tives of  adequate  strength  for  its  observance.     The  age 
when  our  Savior  appeared  exemplifies  this  the  more,  as 
the  unparalleled  success  of  the  Eoman  arms  had  intro- 
duced the  influence  of  luxury  and  ambition,  to  the  cor- 
ruption  alike  of  public  and  private   virtue.     Freedom 
was  no  more.     It  was  not  deserved  ;  it  was  not  wished 
for ;  it  would  not  have  been  appreciated  nor  maintained 
if  it  had  come.     Domestic  slavery  existed  in  its  most 
atrocious  form ;  the  very  life  of  the  bondman  beino-  at 
the  discretion,  or  rather  at  the  caprice,  of  his  master ; 
as  instanced  in  the  well-known  incident  of  the  slave  who 
had  accidentally  broken  a  crystal  vase  being  ordered  to 
be  thrown  into  the  fish  pond  for  his  oflTence.     The  ureat 
public  pastime  of  the  Bomans  was  the  spectacle  of  mur- 
der in  the  amphitheatres.      A  form  of  sensuality  that 
cannot  now   be  named,  was  practised   without  shame, 

Vivcntes  rapit;  inferias,  quos  immolct  iimbris, 
Captivoque  rogi  perfundat  sanguine  flanimas." 

jEneid.  Book  X.  517-520 
**  Vinxerat  et  post  tcrga  manus,  quos  mitteret  umbris 
Inferias,  ca^so  sparsuros  sanguine  flammam." 

XI.  81,  82. 


W'^T'"  '^•'^^^^^^^^^-^^^^••'^  ^'^i'^-^!i-T'^^^&^^'^;:^i^^ifB^ 


I 


64 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


GREEK   AND  ROMAN   CIVILIZATION. 


65 


and  almost  without  concealment.  Nor  did  the  aire  of 
Augustus  exhibit  heathen  corruption  at  its  worst ;  the 
course  was  still  downward ;  and  though  Christianity 
soon  began  to  apply  a  counteracting  influence,  yet  before 
that  influence  could  be  fully  exerted,  the  world  was  to 
sec  how  far  human  folly  and  wickedness  could  go  in 
the  reigns  and  the  persons  of  a  Caligula,  a  Nero,  and  an 
Elagabalus.  The  last,  the  most  disgusting  of  tyrants, 
was  a  priest,  a  fanatical  devotee  of  the  god  from  whom 
he  derived  his  name.  Heathenism  could  sink  no  lower 
than  this. 

It  will  be  urged,  however,  that  although  the  religion 
of  antiquity  was  thus  deficient,  its  philosophy  was  the 
noblest  that  the  world  has  seen.  No  modern  name  has 
eclipsed  those  of  Socrates  and  Plato.  And,  to  select 
one  whose  life  had  ended  not  long  before  the  Christian 
era,  how  few  in  any  period  of  the  world  have  left  a  fame 
to  be  compared  with  that  of  Cicero  !  AVe  see  in  him 
not  only  the  orator  and  statesman,  employing  his  un- 
equalled talents  for  the  punishment  of  the  rapacious 
Verres,  for  the  defence  of  the  injured  and  oppressed,  to 
sustain  the  cause  of  order  against  Catiline,  and  that  of 
liberty  against  Antony  ;  but  the  philosopher,  devoting 
the  scanty  leisure  of  a  busy  life  to  the  preparation  of 
imperishable  essays  on  Duty  and  Inunortality,  while  the 
circumstances  of  his  death  give  him  a  place  among  the 
martyrs  of  freedom.  If  the  teaching  of  nature  could 
form  such  a  character,  what  need  of  a  revelation  ?  Even 
allowing  that  the  unrecognized  influence  of  earlier  divine 
teaching  had  shared  in  its  production,  yet  since  the  re- 
sult was  there,  what  need  was  there  of  a  new  revelation 
to  the  ajre  that  had  seen  a  Cicero  ? 


To  these  questions  it  may  be  replied,  that  we  cannot 
take  a  single  exceptional  case,  or  a  few  such  cases,  as  a 
standard  of  the  progress  or  the  power  of  mankind.  To 
judge  of  the  necessity  of  a  revelation,  we  need  to  know, 
not  what  the  i^reatest  and  best  amoni?  millions  could 
become,  but  what  mankind  at  large  could  attain.  Yet 
even  these  exceptional  cases  show,  by  their  imperfection, 
how  low  must  have  been  the  condition  of  public  morality 
in  the  midst  of  which  they  a|)pcared  so  brilliant.  We 
have  selected  this  instance  of  Cicero  in  good  faith,  as 
one  of  the  brightest  that  antiquity  presents.  And  yet, 
upon  a  closer  survey  of  his  history,  we  find  the  conduct 
of  this  great  man  not  only  marked  by  the  grossest  vanity, 
and  by  repeated  desertion  of  his  political  princij)les,  but 
in  various  instances  by  still  graver  oiFences.  We  find 
him  forsaking  her  who  had  been  his  wife  for  thirty  years, 
and  marrying,  almost  immediately,  a  young  maiden, 
whose  extensive  property  had  been  placed  under  his 
charge ;  we  find  him  repeatedly  guilty  of  falsehood,  and 
implicated  in  such  acts  of  violence  and  rapacity  as  he 
had  denounced  in  others  with  the  most  inditrnfint  elo- 
quence.  We  do  not,  indeed,  judge  these  oflfences  in 
him  by  the  strict  standard  of  Christian  morality.  Rather 
do  we  look  on  him,  and  on  other  illustrious  men  of  hea- 
then antiquity,  with  an  admiration  like  that  with  which 
we  view  feats  of  dexterity  performed  by  one  who  is 
chained  or  crippled.  Our  wonder  is  that  so  much  should 
be  achieved  under  circumstances  so  unfavorable. 

And  allowing  the  eminence  of  the  amcient  philoso- 
phers, not  only  in  the  tlieory  but  in  the  practice  of  vir- 
tue, they  could  not  exert  a  purifying  influence  upon  the 
mass  of  mankind.     There  needs,  for  such  an  influence, 

5 


64 


EVIDENCES  OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


and  almost  without  concealment.  Nor  did  the  a^e  of 
Augustus  exhibit  heathen  corruption  at  its  worst;  the 
course  was  still  downward ;  and  though  Chrij^tianity 
soon  began  to  apply  a  counteracting  influence,  yet  before 
that  influence  could  be  fully  exerted,  the  world  was  to 
see  how  ftir  human  folly  and  wickedness  could  go  in 
the  reigns  and  the  persons  of  a  Caligula,  a  Nero,  and  an 
Elagabalus.  The  last,  the  most  disgusting  of  tyrants, 
was  a  priest,  a  fanatical  devotee  of  the  god  from  whom 
he  derived  his  name.  Heathenism  could  sink  no  lower 
than  this. 

It  will  be  urged,  however,  that  althouMi  the  relijrion 
of  antiquity  was   thus  deficient,  its  philosophy  was  the 
noblest  that  the  world  has  seen.     No  modern  name  has 
eclipsed  those  of  Socrates  and  Plato.     And,  to  select 
one  whose  life  had  ended  not  long  before  the  Christian 
era,  how  few  in  any  period  of  the  world  have  left  a  fame 
to  be  compared  with  that  of  Cicero  !     AVe  see  in  him 
not  only  the  orator  and  statesman,  employing  his  un- 
equalled  talents   for    the    punishment   of  the    rapacious 
Verres,  for  the  defence  of  the  injured  and  oppressed,  to 
sustain  the  cause  of  order  against  Catiline,  and  that  of 
liberty  against  Antony;  but  the  philosopher,  devoting 
the  scanty  leisure  of  a  busy  life  to  the  preparation  of 
imperishable  essays  on  Duty  and  Immortality,  while  the 
circumstances  of  his  death  give  him  a  place  among  the 
martyrs  of  freedom.     If  the  teaching  of  nature  could 
form  such  a  character,  what  need  of  a  revelation  ?     Even 
allowing  that  the  unrecognized  influence  of  earlier  divine 
teaching  had  shared  in  its  production,  yet  since  the  re- 
sult was  there,  what  need  was  there  of  a  new  revelation 
to  the  age  that  had  seen  a  Cicero  ? 


GREEK   AND   ROMAN   CIVILIZATION. 


65 


To  these  questions  it  may  be  replied,  that  we  cannot 
take  a  single  exceptional  case,  or  a  few  such  cases,  as  a 
standard  of  the  progress  or  the  power  of  mankind.     To 
judge  of  the  necessity  of  a  revelation,  we  need  to  know, 
not  what  the  greatest  and  best  among   millions  could 
become,  but  what  mankind  at  large  could  attain.     Yet 
even  these  exceptional  cases  show,  by  their  imperfection, 
how  low  must  have  been  the  condition  of  public  morality 
in  the  midst  of  which  they  appeared  so  brilliant.     We 
have  selected  this  instance  of  Cicero  in  good  faith,  as 
one  of  the   brightest  that  antiquity  presents.     And  yet, 
upon  a  closer  survey  of  his  history,  we  find  the  conduct 
of  this  great  man  not  only  marked  by  the  grossest  vanity, 
and  by  repeated  desertion  of  his  political  principles,  but 
in  various  instances  by  still  graver  oflences.     We  find 
him  forsaking  her  who  had  been  his  wife  for  thirty  years, 
and    marrying,   almost    immediately,   a   young  maiden, 
whose  extensive  property  had   been    placed    under  his 
charge ;  we  find  him  repeatedly  guilty  of  falsehood,  and 
implicated   in  such  acts  of  violence  and  rapacity  as  he 
had  denounced   in  others  with  the  most  indiirnant  elo- 
quence.     We  do   not,  indeed,  judge  these   oflfences  in 
him  by  the  strict  standard  of  Christian  morality.     Eather 
do  we  look  on  him,  and  on  other  illustrious  men  of  hea- 
then antiquity,  with  an  admiration  like  that  with  which 
we  view   feats  of  dexterity  performed   by  one  who  is 
chained  or  crippled.     Our  wonder  is  that  so  much  should 
be  achieved  under  circumstances  so  unfavorable. 

And  allowing  the  eminence  of  the  ant^ient  philoso- 
phers, not  only  in  the  theory  but  in  the  practice  of  vir- 
tue, they  could  not  exert  a  purifying  influence  upon  the 
mass  of  mankind.     There  needs,  for  such  an  influence, 


5 


66 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


something  more  ardent  and  more  engaging  than  philoso- 
phy ;  more  ardent  to  inspire  the  efforts  of  the  teaeher ; 
more  engaging  to  win  the  attention  of  the  people.  The 
pliilosophers  never  exi)ected  nor  attempted  to  instruct 
the  mass  of  their  countrymen.  They  lelt  these  to  the 
guidance,  such  as  it  was,  of  the  national  religion,  to 
which  they  themselves  })aid  outward  respect.  Among 
the  last  words  of  iSocrates  was  a  request  to  his  friend  to 
ofter  a  sacrifice  to  ilOsculapius.  Such  acquiesence  in 
the  popular  superstition  was  not  the  way  to  efiect  an 
extensive  reform  in  faith  or  morals.  And  even  if  the 
philosophers  had  undertaken  such  a  task,  their  instruc- 
tions were  given  in  a  form  too  al)stract  to  engage  general 
attention,  and  had  no  authoritative  sanction  to  enforce 
them.  In  Christianity,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was, 
to  arrest  the  inquirer  and  to  guide  the  learner,  the  charm 
and  example  of  a  perfect  character ;  and  the  precepts 
given  possessed  an  authority  more  than  human,  as 
being  communicated  by  one  who  was  the  delegate  of 
heaven. 

The  failure  of  philosophy  to  instruct  mankind  is 
evident  from  an  observation  of  the  period  between  its 
hiirhest  attainments  in  the  age  of  Plato  and  the  birth 
of  Christ,  —  a  period  of  about  four  hundred  years. 
During  this  time,  if  ever,  the  influence  of  philosophy 
should  have  been  seen,  in  improving  the  morals  and  the 
condition  of  mankind  ;  yet  at  tlie  close  of  tliis  period 
corruption  had  greatly  increased ;  tlie  ancient  patriotic 
spirit  of  Greece  and  Ivome  had  departed  with  tlie  ancient 
simple  manners  ;  liberty  was  no  more ;  and  while  reli- 
gion had  lost  its  influence  over  cultivated  minds,  the  mass 
of  the  people  were  still  in  blind  subjection  to  heathen 


L : 


t 


GREEK   AND  ROMAN   CIVILIZATION. 


67 


superstition.  Philosophy  then,  as  a  reforming  power 
in  the  world,  had  been  tried  and  found  wanting. 

Its  insufHciency,  too,  was  confessed  by  some  of  its 
ablest  teachers.  A  few  passages  from  ancient  writers 
may  suffice  to  show  how  the  need  of  a  revelation  was 
felt  and  acknowledged  by  those  who  were  l)est  qualified 
to  appreciate  what  philosophy  could  accomplish. 

In  the  "  Second  Alcibiades  "  of  Plato,  Alcibiadcs  is 
represented  as  on  his  way  to  the  temple  to  ofler  his 
devotions,  when  he  meets  Socrates.  The  philosopher 
draws  from  him  an  acknowledgement  of  his  own  igno- 
rance and  that  of  mankind  respecting  the  true  worship, 
and  advises  him  to  wait  with  patience  until  he  can  be 
instructed.  Alcibiades  inquires  from  whom  the  instruc- 
tion is  to  come.  Socrates  replies,  from  one  who  is  con- 
cerned for  his  good ;  but  there  is  now  a  cloud  before 
his  mind,  which  must  be  removed  before  he  can  see 
such  objects  aright.  The  young  man  declares  his  earnest 
desire  to  learn,  and  his  readiness  to  obey  any  command 
of  this  mysterious  teacher,  if  he  may  thereby  become 
better.  Socrates  assures  him  of  the  willingness  of  the 
promised  instructor ;  a^d  they  agree  that  it  is  best  not 
to  render  sacrifices  until  he  shall  manifest  himself,  for 
which  Alcibiades  expresses  his  strong  desire. 

The  design  of  Socrates  in  this  dialogue  was  probably 
to  awaken  serious  thought ;  and  the  promised  Teacher 
was  that  Divine  Presence  of  which  Socrates  was  con- 
scious, and  which  in  his  own  case  he  characterized  as 
an  attendant  "demon"  or  spirit.  However  this  may 
have  been,  the  passage  contains  a  striking  admission  of 
the  ignorance  of  mankind  in  general  as  to  the  true 
service  of  God. 


68 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


Ill  the  "  Apology,"  Socrates  uses  the  following  lan- 
guage:  "You  may  give  over  all  hopes  of  amending 
men's  manners  for  the  future,  unless  God  be  pleased  to 
send  you  some  other  per.-un  to  instruet  you." 

A'^-ain,  in  the  "  Pluedun,"  after  Socrates  has  discoursed 
on  immortality,  and  observed  that  full  knowledge  of 
divine  thinirs  was  not  to  be  attained  till  the  soul  was 
separated  from  the  body,  the  practical  result  is  given  in 
the  answer  of  Sinunias.  It  is  best,  then,  he  says,  if 
we  cannot  by  all  our  study  find  out  the  truth,  "  to  take 
the  best  and  most  probable  results  of  human  reason, 
and  steer  our  course  by  these,  unless  one  could  proceed 
by  a  clearer  and  safer  way,  in  a  stronger  vessel,  as  by 
some  divine  revelation." 

Lord  Bolingbroke,  who  maintains  the  opposite  opin- 
ion, yet  observes,  "But  it  nuist  be  admitted  that  Plato 
insinuates  in  many  places  the  want,  or  the  necessity,  of 
a  divine  revelation  to  discover  the  external  service  God 
requires,  and  the  expiation  for  sin,  to  give  stronger 
assurances  of  the  rewards  and  punishments  that  await 
men  in  another  world,  —  and  to  frame  a  system  of  the 
whole  order  of  thinijs,  both  in  this  world  and  the  next."  * 

Among  the  sects  of  Grecian  philosophy  there  is  one 
whicli  claims  especial  attention  from  its  near  approach 
to  Christian  morality,  and  the  noble  characters  of  some 
of  its  disciples.  The  Stoics  were  the  followers  of  Zeno, 
who  lived  three  hundred  years  before  Christ.  The  basis 
of  the  Stoic  system  was  the  idea  of  living  according  to 
nature ;  not,  however,  the  nature  of  the  individual,  but 
universal  nature.     But  among  all  things,  while  some 

*  Bolingbroke's  "Works,  vol.  v.,  page  214. 


I 


GREEK   AND   ROMAN   CIVILIZATION. 


69 


were  bad,  and  some  indifferent,  wisdom  and  virtue  alone 
were  good.     To  these,  therefore,  the  life  must  be  con- 
formed.    The  truly  wise  man  is  represented  as  perfect 
and  sufficient  in  himself;  pain  and  evil,  which  subdue  the 
rest  of  mankind,  are  powerless  over  him  ;  he  feels  them, 
but  does  not  yield  to  them.     While  we  cannot  but  recog- 
nize much  that  is  noble  in  these  thoughts,  we  perceive 
at  once  their  deficiencies,  in  the  want  of  a  principle  of 
reli-ious  obligation,  and  of  that  humility  which,  recog- 
nizing human  weakness,  would  have  sought  and  wel- 
comed the  hope   of  aid  from  a  higher  power.     These 
deficiencies  are    strikingly  apparent  in  the  belief   and 
practice  of  the  Stoics  with  respect  to  suicide.     The  wise 
man,  perfect  and  independent,  was,  of  course,  master 
of  his  own  life ;  whether  he  should  retain  or  leave  it, 
was  but  a  question  of  convenience  ;  and  though  he  must 
never  admit  that  pain  had  conquered  him,  yet  to  prefer 
death  to  other  means  of  suffering  had  in  it  a  boldness 
which  prevented  the  proud  spirit  of  the  Stoic  from  dis- 
cerning his  own  inconsistency. 

Thus  Zeno  himself,  when  near  a  hundred  years  old, 
took  his  own  life,  because  he  had  broken  a  joint  of  his 
fin"-er  by  a  fall.  Perhaps  some  remainder  of  superstition 
mingled  with  his  motives,  for  he  declared  he  considered 
the  accident  a  summons  from  the  invisible  world. 

The  most  memorable  disciples  of  the  Stoic  school 
were  Cato  the  younger,  Epictetus,  and  Marcus  Aurelius. 
The  determination  of  Cato  to  destroy  himself  rather 
than  yield  to  a  conqueror,  lias  been  held  up  to  admiration  ; 
yet  it  was  rather  a  flight  from  what  he  dreaded,  than  a 
triumph  over  it.  Wise  and  vu-tuous  as  he  was,  he 
judged  too  rashly,  if  he  thought  that  there  was  no  more 


70 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


that  he  could  do  for  his  country  ;  for  none  can  tell  what 
influence  he  might  have  exerted  in  the  stormy  times  that 

followed.  o    .  •        •     1  • 

Epictetus  was  at  first  a  slave,  and  Stoicism  m  him 
was  exemplified  by  the  utmost  patience  under  the  cruelty 
of  his  master.     One  day,  when  this  man  was  torturing 
him  hy  twisting  his  leg,  Epictetus  smiled,  and  quiet  y 
said    "  You  will  break  it ;  "  and  when  it  did  break,  only 
remarked,  «  Did  not  I  tell  you  so  ?  "     Possessed  of  such 
heroic  patience,   he  appears  to  have  diilered  from  the 
other  Stoics  on  the  subject  of  suicide.     He  afterwards 
obtained   his   freedom,  and   was,  during   a  long  life,  a 
teacher  of  philosophy.     He  left  nothing  in  wntmg,  but 
his  sayings  were  given  to  the  world  by  his  pupil,  Arrian. 
IVIarcus  Aurelius  exhibited  the  virtue  of  Stoicism  in  a 
station  the  most  strongly  contrasted  to  that  of  Epictetus. 
Adopted  by  Antoninus  as  heir  of  the  empire,  he  exer- 
cised over  himself    that  continual  watchfulness  which 
enabled  him  wisely  to  govern  others.     A  lover  of  peace> 
he  was  called  to  reign  at  a  period  of  continual  warfare ; 
but  triumphed  over  all  his  enemies  by  his  energy  and 
wisdom,   and    secured   their   future    allegiance   by    his 
clemency.     But  for  his  persecution  of  the  Christians, 
his  memory  would  be  almost  without  a  stain.     But  that 
persecution  is  the  less  excusable  in  him  from  the  very 
greatness   of  his  character  in  other  respects.     As   an 
energetic  ruler,  it  cannot  be  pleaded  for  him  that  the 
cruekies  inflicted  during  a  series  of  years  were  unknown 
to  him  ;  as   a  wise  ruler,  he  should  have  been  raised 
above  superstition  and  vulgar  prejudice ;  and  as  a  hu- 
mane ruler  in  other  departments  of  his  ofhce,  his  feelings 
must  have  shrunk  from  the  crime  which  mistaken  policy 


GREEK   AND  ROMAN   CIVILIZATION, 


71 


prompted  him  to  commit,  and  from  which  his    Stoic 
philosophy  had  not  the  power  to  save  him. 

It  is  probable  that  the  virtue  of  Aurelius,  and  even 
that  of  Epictetus,  owed  much  to  the  unsuspected  influ- 
ence of  Ciiristian  ideas.     Epictetus  was  a  slave  at  Rome 
not  many  years  after  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 
under  Nero.     In  the  steadfastness  of  the  martyrs  in  that 
persecution,  all  Rome  received  a  lesson  of  patience  be- 
yond what  Stoicism  had  ever  taught ;  and  even  they  who 
knew  not  the  religious  motive  of  that  patience,  might 
be   led  to   admire   and  imitate   its  practical   exhibition. 
The  difference  between  Epictetus  and  the  earlier  Stoics, 
respecting  suicide,  appears  to  indicate  that  a  new  influ- 
ence had  been  added  to  theirs.     In  the  time  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  Christian  thought  must  have  penetrated  society 
still  more  deeply;  and  the  Emperor,  who  in  his  "  Medi- 
tations" ascribes    all  of  good  that  he  had  attained  to 
the  instruction  and  example  of  his  parents  and  teachers, 
may,  probably,  have  omitted  one  influence  which  had 
had  its  part  in  making  him  what  he  was,  and  whose 
blessing  he  had  mistakenly  repaid  with  persecution. 

The  -.umber,  ho^Vever,  was  small,  of  those  whom 
heathen  philosophy,  in  the  elevated  form  of  Stoicism, 
could  lead  in  the  path  of  virtue.  Its  principles  were  too 
abstract  and  cold  for  human  nature  in  general.  Men 
needed  the  recognition  of  a  heavenly  Father,  the  exam- 
ple oi"  a  perfect  Savior.  The  want  of  a  revelation,  often 
felt  and  acknowledged  by  the  philosophers,  was  realized 
still  more  deeply  by  those  who  had  not  light  like  theirs 
to  guide  them.  And  this  want  was  further  testified  by 
the  eagerness  with  which  the  world  received  that  revela- 
tion when  it  came.     AYhile  Epictetus  and  Aurelius  were 


■ma^m-f^. 


i'/ 


72 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


o-ivinn-  forth  tlic  best  rays  of  heathen  wisdom,  ah'eady 
minf'-led,  perhaps,  with  a  light  whose  origin  they  did  not 
reco"-nize,  that  light  was  eagerly  hailed  by  ever  increas- 
ino-  thousands.  With  the  uneducated,  heathenism  had 
possession  of  the  ground  ;  with  the  educated,  philosophy. 
These  were  sustained  against  the  intrusion  of  the  new 
reli*i-ion  by  all  the  power  of  the  state ;  a  power  which 
was  unsparingly  exerted  in  a  succession  of  persecutions. 
Yet  the  new  system  lived  and  triumphed.  The  world 
would  not  have  embraced  it  had  it  not  felt  its  need. 


APOLLONIUSj   THE   CHIIIST   OF   PHILOSOPHY. 


73 


CHAPTER  IV. 
AroLLONius,  THE  Christ  of  Philosophy. 

The  advance  of  Christianity  in  the  heathen  Eoman 
Empire  was  opposed  not  only  by  the  force  of  persecu- 
tion, and  by  the  arguments  of  such  writers  as  Celsus 
and  Porphyry.  About  two  hundred  years  from  the 
birth  of  Christ,  the  attempt  was  made  to  set  up  a  rival 
to  him,  in  the  interest  of  heathenism.  Such  appears  to 
have  been  the  origin  of  the  biography  of  Apollonius 
of  Tyana,  written  by  Philostratus  at  the  command  of 
the  Empress  eJulia  Domna,  and  purporting  to  be  derived 
from  an  ancient  document,  the  narrative  of  Damis,  the 
companion  and  friend  of  Apollonius. 

We  have,  then,  in  the  life  of  Apollonius,  the  best 
effort  of  classic  cultivation  to  surpass  the  narratives  of 
the  life  of  Jesus.  The  four  evangelists  had  given  to 
the  world  a  portraiture  of  superhuman  excellence ;  and 
a  philosopher  at  the  imperial  court  undertook  a  similar 
task.     \V"e  shall  see  how  he  succeeded. 

In  preparing  this  chapter,  we  have  had  before  us  not 
only  the  recent  entertaining  book  of  M.  Reville,*  but  that 
of  Dr.  Baur  on  which  it  is  founded,  and  the  work  of 
Philostratus  himself. 

The  birth  of  Apollonius  is  thought  to  have  nearly 
coincided  in  date  with  that  of  Jesus.     His  native  place, 

*  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  the  Pagan  Christ  of  the  Third  Century. 
By  Albert  Kcville. 


74 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


APOLLONIUS,   THE   CHRIST   OF  PHILOSOPHY. 


75 


Tjana,  was  a  city  of  Cappadocia  in  Asia  iNIinor ;  and 
he  pursued  his  early  studies  at  Tarsus,  not  fiir  off,  pos- 
sibly under  tlic  same  teachers  from  whom  tlic  youthful 
Saul  was  rcccivinij  the  elements  of  Grecian  learninii-. 
If  we  may  believe  Philostratus,  whose  account  we  shall 
now  follow,  the  birth  of  the  future  sage  had  been  foretold 
to  his  mother  by  Proteus,  the  changeful  and  prophetic 
deity,  who  became  incarnate  in  his  person.  A  flock  of 
swans  sang  at  his  birth,  as  at  that  of  Apollo.  In  youth 
he  embraced  with  great  zeal  the  })liilo.>;()phy  of  IVthag- 
oras,  and  became  so  famous  for  the  beauty  of  his  person 
and  his  early  wisdom,  that  his  biogra})her  traces  to  hiui 
a  i)roverb  of  the  neighborhood,  "  Whither  run  you  so 
fast?  Is  it  to  see  the  young  man?  "  Having  observed 
the  five  years'  silence  prescribed  to  the  disciples  of  Py- 
thagoras, he  set  out  on  his  travels.  At  Nineveh  he  was 
joined  by  Damis,  afterwards  his  biographer.  Babylon, 
which  other  authorities  represent  to  have  been  then  in 
desolation,  he  found  to  be  still  a  royal  capital,  with 
walls  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  nearly  a  hun- 
dred in  thickness.  In  India,  he  received  instruction 
from  divine  sages,  who  dwelt  on  the  summit  of  a  moun- 
tain, surrounded  by  mists  and  miracles.  Returning 
thence,  the  fame  of  his  wisdom  went  before  him.  He 
converted  Ephcsus  to  philosophy  and  virtue,  and  restored 
concord  to  divided  Smyrna.  The  peoj)le  of  the  former 
city,  being  atilicted  with  the  plague,  sent  messengers  to 
Smyrna  for  Apollonius.  He  transferred  himself  to 
Ephesus  in  a  moment,  and  drove  away  the  plague  by  a 
treatment  equally  strange  and  energetic.  The  evil 
spirit  which  occasioned  the  disease  appeared  in  the  form 
of  an  old  beggar.     Apollonius  directed  that  this  person 


> 


should  be  stoned  to  death  in  the  theatre ;  and  when  the 
heap  of  stones  was  removed,  there  appeared  under  it, 
not  the  murdered  beir2;ar,  but  ji  IWma:  doir.  One  miulit 
fancy  that  this  story  had  its  foundation  in  Apollonius 
having  taught  the  Ephesians  to  guard  their  city  from 
the  plague  by  sternly  excluding  the  squalid  poverty  in 
whose  rags  the  infection  lay  concealed. 

Apollonius  soon  after  visited  the  site  of  ancient  Troy, 
where  he  called  up  the  shade  of  Achilles,  and  received 
from  him  answers  to  several  questions.  Achilles,  though 
so  long  dead,  retained  his  hatred  of  the  Trojans ;  so 
that  he  warned  Apollonius  to  dismiss  from  his  company 
one  of  his  disciples,  because  he  was  descended  from 
Priiun.  It  is  not  to  the  sage's  honor  that  he  obeyed 
this  admonition. 

In  Corinth,  Apollonius  opened  the  eyes  of  an  enam- 
oured youth  to  the  fact  that  his  bride  was  an  evil  spirit ; 
and  caused  the  marriao-e  feast,  with  its  oold  and  silver 
vessels,  cup-bearers  and  cooks,  to  vanish  into  air. 

At  Athens,  a  youth  irreverently  laughing  at  Apollo- 
nius's  instructions,  the  sage  pronounced  him  possessed 
by  a  demon,  and  ejected  it  forthwith,  the  demon  proving 
his  presence  by  overthrowing  a  statue. 

More  credibly,  and  highly  to  his  honor,  he  is  related 
to  have  censured  the  gladiatorial  combats  of  the  Athe- 
nians. "  He  refused  going  to  their  assembly  when  in- 
vited, saying  the  place  was  impure  and  polluted  with 
blood."  AAlth  the  Pythagoreans  generally,  he  offered 
only  bloodless  sacrifices,  and  abstained  from  animal  food, 
and  even  from  clothing  of  whose  fabric  any  animal 
growth  formed  a  part. 

Erom  Olympia,  he  wrote  to   the  Ephori  of  Sparta, 


76 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


APOLLONIUS,    THE   CHRIST   OF  PHILOSOPHY. 


77 


If  \ 


who  had  sent  him  a  deputation,  and  enjoined  them  to 
restore  the  ancient  simplicity  of  manners.  The  magis- 
trates, more  submissive  to  good  advice  than  magistrates 
usually  are,  complied  at  once,  and  were  favored  with  a 
truly  laconic  letter  of  commendation. 

Subsequently,  on  a  visit  to  Sparta,  he  heard  of  a 
vouu"-  man  who  was  to  be  tried  on  the  charge  of  neg- 
lecting  the  affairs  of  the  rci)ul)lic  for  his  own  commer- 
cial j)ursuits.  He  visited  him,  and  by  rousing  his  pride 
of  ancestry,  and  representing  to  him  the  ignoble  char- 
acter of  mercantile  transactions,  brought  him  to  tears 
of  repentance.  lie  then  obtained  his  pardon  from  the 
Ephori.  Besides  the  improbability  of  the  story,  repre- 
sentimr  the  laws  of  Lvcuri»us  to  be  in  force  at  Sparta  in 
the  corrupt  age  of  Claudius,  we  have  to  notice  its  false 
morality  and  ruinous  political  economy,  in  condemning 
useful  labor  as  dishonorable. 

ApoUonius  soon  after  visited  Rome,  where  Nero  had 
recently  ascended  the  throne.  The  account  of  the  ex- 
cesses which  that  Emperor  was  conunitting  does  not 
agree  with  the  statements  of  authentic  history,  according 
to  which,  the  first  five  years  of  his  reign  were  marked 
by  wise  government  and  becoming  deportment,  under 
the  guidance  of  Seneca  and  Burrhus. 

At  Rome,  ApoUonius  met  the  funeral  of  a  young 
maiden,  and  commanding  the  attendants  to  set  down 
the  bier,  touched  the  girl,  pronounced  a  few  words  over 
her,  and  awakened  her  from  her  seeming  death.  While 
other  circumstances  of  this  story  seem  derived  from  the 
miracle  at  Nain,  the  doubt  expressed  by  the  biographer 
whether  death  had  actually  taken  place,  reminds  us  of 
the  Savior's  expression  in  relation  to  the  daughter  of 


(#] 


Jairus,  "  The  maiden  is  not  dead,  but  slecpeth."  The 
relations  of  the  girl  presented  ApoUonius  with  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  drachmas,  which  he  settled  on  her  as 
a  marriage  portion. 

We  next  find  him  at  Cadiz,  examining  the  phenomena 
of  the  tides,  whose  cause  he  pronounced  to  be  winds, 
blowing  from  caverns  by  the  side  of  the  ocean,  and 
drawn  in  again  alternately,  like  human  breath. 

In  Spain,  ApoUonius  encouraged  the  rebellion  of 
Vindex  a'^ainst  Xero.  Returning:  eastward  to  Syracuse, 
he  was  informed  of  a  recent  prodigy,  in  the  birth  of  a 
child  with  three  heads.  From  this  he  foretold  the  ac- 
cession and  transient  reigns  of  three  Emi)erors  ;  soon 
after  verified  in  the  persons  of  Galba,  Otho,  and  Vi- 
tellius. 

After  many  wise  instructions  given  in  Greece,  Apol- 
lonius  reached  Alexandria  some  time  before  the  arrival 
of  Vespasian  in  that  city.  That  conqueror  sought  his 
advice  in  regard  to  the  acceptance  of  the  empire ;  and 
yielded  to  his  counsel,  not  to  restore  the  republic,  but 
to  ascend  the  throne.  ApoUonius  at  the  same  time 
informed  him  of  the  burning  of  the  Capitol  at  Rome, 
which  had  taken  place  only  the  day  before. 

The  Pvthairorcan  doctrine  of  the  transmi^Tation  of 
souls  was  exemplified  in  a  lion,  which  ApoUonius  saw 
in  Egypt,  and  declared  to  be  animated  by  the  spirit  of 
the  ancient  king  Amasis.  The  lion  Vv^ept  while  Apol- 
lonius  told  his  story,  and  the  philosopher  comforted  him 
with  reual  honors. 

ApoUonius  next  visited  the  Gymnosophists,  or  un- 
clotlicd  pliiIoso[)hers  of  Ethiopia,  \^ho  received  him  with 
respect,  commanding  a  tree  to  make  obeisance  to  him. 


78 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


He  lielil  with  them  a  long  discussion  on  tlie  respective 
merits  oF  the  Inditm  sages  and  themselves. 

In  the  reign  of  Titus,  as  in  that  of  liis  father,  Apol- 
lonius  was  in  high  favor;  but  under  Domitian,  he  en- 
coura^-ed  Nerva  and  others  to  rebellion  against  that 
tyrant.  Domitian  sent  to  arrest  liim,  but  he  anticipated 
his  intention  by  hastening  at  once  to  Komc.  Alter 
imprisonment  and  other  ill  treatment,  he  was  examined 
before  the  Emperor,  lie  api)eared  with  dignity,  even 
with  haughtiness ;  defended  himself  against  the  charges 
brought,  but  admitted  that  men  called  him  a  god,  and 
declared  that  every  good  man  was  entitled  to  that  appel- 
lation. 

He  explained,  however,  some  words  he  had  used  be- 
fore the  statue  of  Domitian,  in  a  manner  that  seems 
more  ingenious  than  truthful.  His  defence  was  suc- 
cessful; and  the  Emperor  acquitted  him  of  all  charges. 
The  philosopher  thanked  Domitian  for  this  vindication, 
but  blamed  him  for  encouraging  informers  ;  and,  quoting 
a  line  of  Homer,  "  Thou  canst  not  slay  me,  for  to  thee 
I  am  not  mortal,"  vanished  from  his  presence.  The 
same  day  he  was  seen  at  Puteoli,  a  hundred  and  fifty 

miles  distant. 

The  philosopher  afterwards  visited  the  cave  of  Tro- 
phonius,  tlic  son  of  Aimllo,  and  remained  several  days 
in  his  realms  of  darkness  ;  returning  afterwards  to  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  by  a  passage  before  untrodden,  in 
Aulis,  about  fifty  miles  from   Lebadea,   where  he  had 

disap[)eared. 

Keturning  to  Ephesus,  the  philosopher  gave  instruc- 
tions to  a  crowd  of  admiring  disciples.  One  day,  wlulc 
thus    teaching,   he    suddenly  let  his   voice   fall,   as    if 


APOLLONIUS,    THE   CHRIST   OF   PHILOSOPHY. 


79 


^ 


■ 


!■ 


U 
I 


alarmed,  —  then  resumed  liis  conversation  in  a  lower 
tone,  —  then  paused  entirely.  After  that,  advancing  a 
few  steps,  he  cried  out,  "  Strike  the  tyrant,  strike  !  " 
He  stood  for  some  time  in  silent  attention,  and  then 
declared  to  the  astonished  crowd  that  Domitian  had 
that  instant  been  slain.  The  historian,  Dion  Cassius, 
who  undoubtedly  had  this  story  from  Philostratus,  with 
whom  he  was  a  fellow-courtier,  improves  upon  it  by 
making  Apollonius  utter  the  very  name  of  the  regicide. 
'^  Well  done,  Stephanus  !  Courage,  Stephanus  !  Strike 
the  murderer  !  Thou  hast  struck  him,  hast  wounded 
him,  hast  slain  him  !  " 

At  length,  at  an  age  of  from  eighty  to  upwards  of  a 
hundred  years,  according  to  different  estimates,  Apol- 
lonius passed  from  earth  in  some  mysterious  manner. 
His  tomb,  like  that  of  jNIoses,  was  not  known.  One 
account  represents  him  as  having  disappeared  in  the 
temple  of  Diana,  while  virgin  voices  were  heard  singing, 
"  Leave  the  earth,  ascend  to  heaven  !  " 

The  teaching  of  Apollonius  was  in  accordance  with 
the  Pythagorean  philosophy,  to  the  truth  of  which  he 
brouiiht  the  attestation  of  the  sa"es  of  India,  and  of  the 
demigod  Trophonius.  That  philosophy  inculcated  per- 
sonal purity,  the  restraint  of  appetite,  the  contempt  of 
wealth  and  luxury,  and  the  performance  of  benevolent 
actions.  One  of  its  most  prominent  doctrines  was  the 
transmiirration  of  souls ;  and  from  this  followed  the 
comparative  imlmportance  of  the  event  of  death.  The 
Pythagorean  might  say,  if  in  a  lower  sense  than  the 
Christian, 

"  It  is  not  death  :  what  seems  so  is  transition." 


I 


80 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


III 


Pythagoras  declared  that  he  remembered  his  former 
life,  when  he  was  Euphorbus,  shiin  at  the  siege  of  Troy. 
The  Indian  sage  larchas,  whom  Apollonius  visited, 
claimed  to  have  been  once  King  Ganges,  son  of  the 
river  of  that  name.  Apollonius  himself,  more  modestly, 
only  asserted  that  he  was  once  the  master  of  an  Egyp- 
tian merchant  ship. 

Many  of  the  sayings  ascribed  to  the  Tyanean  sage 
are  full  of  dignity  and  beauty.  In  others  the  arrogance 
of  the  sophist  is  discernible.     The  following  may  serve 

as  instances. 

In  one  of  the  letters  ascribed  to  him,  after  a  complaint 
almost  identical  with  that  of  Jesus,  that  "  a  prophet  hath 
no  honor  in  his  own  country,"  he  adds,  "  I  know  well, 
indeed,  how  good  it  is  for  one  to  hold  the  whole  earth 
for  his  country,  and  all  men  for  his  brothers  and  friends, 
since  we  are   all  of  divine  lineage,  and  come  from  one 
Father ;  and  since  there  is  a  universal  community  of 
nature,  by  which  every  one,  wherever  and  however  he 
may  be  situated,  whether  barbarian  or  Grecian,  is  still 
always  a  man."     In  this  noble  language  we  recognize 
Christian  sentiments;  but  we  cannot  forget  that  Phi- 
lostratus  lived  two  centuries  after  Christ,  and  when  the 
prominent    ideas    of    Christianity    had    become   known 
tlirough  every  class  of  society. 

In  the  Apology  of  Apollonius,  intended  to  have  been 
delivered  before  Domitian,  are  these  words  ;  "  Dost  thou 
ask  me  to  which  class  I  belong,  to  the  rich  or  the  poor? 
I  answer,  to  the  richest  of  all ;  for  that  I  stand  in  need 
of  nothing,  is  to  me  Lydia  and  the  Pactolus." 

After  the  death  of  Apollonius,  or  rather,  we  should 
say,  after  the  appearance  of  his  biography  by  Philostra- 


APOLLONIUS,    THE   CHRIST   OF   PHILOSOPHY. 


81 


tus,  divine  honors  were  rendered  to  him  in  various 
places,  and  especially  at  Tyana.  He  is  said  to  have 
appeared,  after  his  death  or  ascension,  to  the  dismay 
and  conversion  of  a  young  man  who  denied  the  immor-  • 
tality  of  the  soul ;  —  a  story  probably  copied  from  the 
account  of  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul.  Much  later,  we 
are  told,  the  Emperor  Aurelian  beheld  the  deified  phi- 
losopher, commanding  him  to  spare  Tyana,  which  he 
had  intended  to  destroy  ;  but  as  this  was  after  the  book 
of  Philostratus  had  appeared,  it  will  need  no  miracle  to 
explain  it.  The  relenting  thoughts  of  the  conqueror 
might  well  take,  in  sleep,  the  form  of  the  acknowledged 
protector  of  the  condemned  city. 

There  is  an  evident  resemblance  between  the  wonders 
ascribed  to  Apollonius  and  those  recorded  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  mysterious  birth,  foretold  by  Proteus,  and 
heralded  by  the  song  of  swans,  reminds  us  of  the  annun- 
ciation, and  of  the  vision  of  the  shepherds  at  Bethlehem  ; 
the  control  over  evil  spirits,  as  in  the  cases  of  the  Ephe- 
sian  beggar,  the  Athenian  youth,  and  the  lamia  at 
Corintli ;  the  restoration  to  life  of  the  young  maiden 
at  Rome ;  the  descent  into  the  under  world  at  Leba- 
dea ;  the  ascension  in  the  temple  of  Diana,  and  the 
vision  afforded  afterwards  for  the  conversion  of  an  un- 
believer, —  all  these  are  imitated,  designedly  or  unde- 
signedly, from  the  Christian  history.  His  disappearance 
from  the  presence  of  Domitian  seems  cojjied  from  inci- 
dents, apparently  similar,  in  the  life  of  Jesus ;  as 
when  he,  "passing  through  the  midst  of"  his  enemies, 
"  w^ent  his  way,"  or  when,  after  breaking  bread  with 
the  two  disciples  at  Emmaus,  he  "  vanished  out  of  their 
sight." 


>iti 


i 


IM 


I 


82 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


The  sage  of  Tyana  was,  no  doubt,  a  real  person,  a 
wandering  teacher  of*  the  Pythagorean  philosophy.  lie 
may  have  been  the  counsellor  of  Proconsuls  and  Em- 
perors, may  have  plotted  with  A'Liidex  and  advised 
Vespasian,  though  the  nearer  hi^torians,  Tacitus  and 
Suetonius,  make  no  mention  oi'  him.  15ut  we  are  safe 
in  assertinir,  that  if  he  visited  India,  the  Brahmins  with 
whom  he  conversed  did  not  have  the  power  of  floating 
in  the  air ;  and  that  the  marriage  feast  at  Corinth  did 
not  literally  vanish  at  his  reproof. 

Let  us  compare  the  accounts  of  his  life  with  those  of 
the  Gospels  respecting  Jesus.  Here  are  two  persons, 
who  lived  at  <about  the  same  time,  and  to  both  of  whom 
wonderful  works  are  ascribed.  The  history  of  the  one 
contains  a  mass  of  stories,  mythical,  if  not  consciously 
false.  Can  we  infer  from  this  that  the  history  of  the 
other  is  liable  to  the  same  charge? 

No  ;  for  in  the  first  place,  a  wide  difference  exists  be- 
tween the  documentary  evidence  in  the  two  cases.  The 
authority  claimed  by  Philostratus  was  that  of  the  manu- 
script said  to  have  been  written  by  Damis.  For  the  exist- 
ence of  this  manuscript  we  have  only  the  word  of  Philos- 
tratus ;  for  his  account  was  published  after  the  death  of  the 
Empress  from  whom  he  claims  to  have  received  tlie  docu- 
ment. The  story  respecting  Damis  himself  is  scarcely 
credible.  He  is  said  to  have  joined  Apollonius  when 
the  latter  was  very  young,  and  to  have  been  still  his 
companion,  and  sent  by  him  on  a  message  from  Ephe- 
sus  to  Rome,  when  thev  both  must  have  been  at  least 
eighty  years  old.  There  is  strong  reason,  then,  to  believe, 
apart  from  the  wonders  it  relates  of  Apollonius,  that  the 
narrative,  if  it  was  the  genuine  work  of  Damis,   was 


APOLLONIUS,   THE   CHRIST   OF  PHILOSOPHY. 


83 


altered  and  enlarged  by  Philostratus  in  the  most  reckless 
manner. 

(compare  with  this  the  records  of  Christianity.  The 
Gospels  are  four  documents  instead  of  one  ;  they  were 
preserved,  not  in  a  single  family,  but  by  the  whole 
Christian  community ;  we  have  them  still  in  our  hands, 
in  the  same  condition  in  whicli  thev  were  known  to  the 
early  church  ;  while  the  original  account  of  Apollonius, 
said  to  have  been  written  by  his  companion,  is  confessedly 
lost ;  and  we  have  the  Gos^^els  authenticated  by  a  suc- 
cession of  witnesses,  from  the  early  part  of  the  second 
century,  while  there  is  one  witness  alone,  and  that  a 
much  later  one,  for  the  original  biography  of  Apollonius. 

In  the  second  place,  the  words  and  deeds  of  Jesus 
^ere  committed,  not  only  to  these  writings,  but  to  the 
•everent  and  conscientious  memory  of  chosen  men,  his 
apostles  and  their  associates,  who  devoted  their  lives  to 
the  work  of  proclaiming  his  religion.  Even  should  it 
be  proved  that  the  written  records  were  of  later  dutc, 
there  must  have  been  from  the  first  an  unwritten  gospel 
in  the  preaching  of  the  early  disciples ;  and  to  this  col- 
lected and  generally  authentic  tradition  from  the  eye- 
witnesses, the  historians  must  have  resorted  as  their 
most  obvious  means  of  information.  Apollonius,  on 
the  other  hand,  founded  no  permanent  school.  The 
Apollonians,  if  such  a  sect  existed,  passed  away  so  soon, 
and  so  utterly,  that  the  only  trace  of  their  having  ever 
been,  is  in  a  doubtful  assertion  of  Philostratus. 

In  the  third  place,  the  stories  told  of  Apollonius  show 
their  falsehood  by  other  traits  than  their  miraculous 
character.  The  wonders  are  grotesque,  —  a  speaking 
tree,  a  weeping  lion,  tripods  moving  of  their  own  accord. 


I 


84 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


II 


M 


We  find  also  serpents  with  magic  jewels  in  their  heads, 
vases  containing  the  wind  and  the  rain,  and  stones  which 
eagles  place  in  their  nests  as  talismans  to  protect  their 
young  from  serpents.  How  do  these  accounts  contrast 
with  the  majestic  exhibitions  of  power  by  the  Founder 
of  the  Christian  faith  ;  especially  when  we  remember  that 
the  biographer  of  Apollonius  had  before  him  the  miracles 
of  Christ,  to  copy,  and  if  possible  to  excel,  in  those  which 
he  should  ascribe  to  his  own  saf>-e  ! 

Still  further,  let  any  one  compare  the  character  of  the 
Tyanean  philosopher  with  that  of  the  Man  of  Nazareth. 
Apollonius  is  the  perfection  of  a  heathen  sage,  — cold, 
commanding,  egotistic,  urging  on  mankind  the  claims 
of  a  philosophy,  which,  with  some  lofty  thoughts,  com- 
bines others  that  are  partial,  unnatural,  or  utterly  false. 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  the  warm  heart  of  a  gentle  hu- 
man being ;  and  while  he  leads  his  followers  in  devotion 
to  the  Father,  he  lays  down  his  own  life  for  the  good  of 
mankind,  leaving  to  all  following  ages  the  divine  exam- 
ple of  self-sacrifice. 

In  Apollonius,  heathen  wisdom  and  classic  culture 
did  their  best  ■—  having  the  life  of  Jesus,  too,  before 
them  —  to  produce  a  counterpart  to  Him  who  "  spake 
as  never  man  spake."  Imperial  power  and  priestly 
influence  joined  their  aid  to  establish  the  reputation  of 
the  teacher  of  Tyana,  and  to  obscure  that  of  the  teacher 
of  Nazareth.  But  the  reverent  love  of  mankind  turned 
from  the  cold  and  shadowy  form  of  philosopliic  arro- 
gance, and  chose  the  service  of  Ilim  whose  claims  were 
authenticated  alike  by  external  proof,  and  by  the  beauty 
and  holiness  of  the  message  that  he  brought  from  God 
to  man.     The  legendary  life  of  Apollonius  faded  from 


APOLLONIUS,   THE  CHRIST  OF    PHILOSOPHY. 


85 


the  memory  of  mankind  at  large,  and  was  left  as  an 
object  of  transient  interest  to  the  few  who  love  to  search 
in  libraries  for  what  is  curious  in  the  records  of  the  past. 
But  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  opposed  in  its  progress  by 
monarch  and  priest  and  sophist,  speedily  won  its  way  to 
the  throne  of  visible  empire,  while  it  established  an 
ever-widening  dominion  over  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
men. 


lyt. 


I 


# 


1^ 


86 


EVIDENCES   OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


*=■ 


CHAPTER  V. 

Moral  Evidence  of  Ciikistianity. 

That  the  Cliristian  religion  is  one  of  surpassing  moral 
excellence  and  spiritual  beauty  and  elevation,  is  generally 
admitted.  Its  own  intrinsic  worth  presents  that  evidence 
which  appeals  to  the  heart,  and  without  whose  reception 
by  the  heart,  all  other  proof  must  be  in  vain.  The 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  Parables,  the  account  of  the 
parting  conversation  of  Jesus  with  his  disciples,  and 
that  of  the  crucifixion,  —  these  are  their  own  best  wit- 
nesses. 

We  have,  in  the  preceding  "Manual,"  taken  a  view 
of  the  harmony  of  Christianity  with  nature,  and  its 
adaptation  to  the  powers  and  capacities  of  man  ;  of  its 
morality,  and  of  the  character  of  its  Founder.  (Sec- 
tions 5  to  8.)  Without  repeating  what  has  there  been 
said,  we  shall  now  present  a  few  thoughts  in  the  same 
connection. 

Christianity  claims  reception  on  account  of  the  holi- 
ness of  its  precepts.  If  its  opponent  points  to  the  evils 
that  have  existed  in  Christian  nations,  and  to  those 
crimes  especially  that  have  been  wrought  in  the  very 
name  of  Christianity,  —  to  the  usurpations  of  the  Papal 
power,  the  bloodshed  of  the  Crusades,  the  tyranny  of 
the  Inquisition,  we  have  but  to  turn  to  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  perceive  that  none  of  these  evils  and  crimes  are 


MOUAL   evidence   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


87 


■ 


chargeable  upon  the  Gospel.  Those  evils  have  existed, 
those  crimes  have  been  committed,  not  in  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  Christ,  but  in  defiance  or  in  ignorance, 
alike  of  his  precepts  and  of  his  spirit.  Equally  without 
authority  from  him  has  been  the  institution  of  the  mon- 
astery and  the  convent ;  for  though  he  commanded  his 
disciples  to  follow  him,  it  was  to  a  life  of  active  exertion 
for  the  good  of  mankind,  not  to  one  of  lonely  meditation, 
having  the  good  of  the  individual  for  its  only  object. 
It  is  but  within  the  last  two  centuries  that  Christians 
have  learned,  —  if  they  have  even  yet  fully  learned,  — 
that  persecution  for  opinion's  sake  is  as  wrong  as  it  is 
foolish,  and  that  the  spirit  of  their  Master  requires  them 
to  trhimpli  over  enmity  by  gentleness,  not  by  force; 
yet  the  law  on  these  subjects  wms  given  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  ago,  by  his  sacred  lips,  w^hen  he  told  his 
followers  not  to  forbid  the  action  of  their  fellows-disciple 
because  he  walked  not  with  them,  and  when  he  rebuked 
those  who  would  have  called  down  fire  u})on  the  Samari- 
tan village.  (Mark  ix.  38-40;  Luke  ix.  49-5(3.) 
Thus  do  the  very  weaknesses  and  sins  of  Christ's  disci- 
ples, when  compared  with  the  law  by  which  they  have 
professed  to  be  guided,  bear  witness  to  its  superhuman 
excellence. 

The  Christian  law  is  that  of  perfect  purity,  in  thought 
no  less  than  in  w^ord  and  action  ;  of  impartial  justice,  of 
universal  love.  It  reveals  to  us,  as  the  object  of  devo- 
tion, God,  not  as  anotlier  name  for  nature,  like  Brah- 
minism  and  Buddhism  in  their  purest  forms,  nor  only  ai 
a  Sovereign,  like  Mohammedanism  ;  but  as  "  Our  Fathei 
in  heaven."  It  presents  to  us,  as  the  object  of  our 
love,  second  only  to  Him,  man,  our  brother ;  the  hum- 


r4 


88 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


blest  of  the  race,  and  the  most  widely  separated  from 
us,  being  like  ourselves  a  child  of  tlie  Universal  Father. 

Again,  the  excellence  of  Christianity  appears  in  the 
character  of  its  Founder.  In  Jesus  Christ  we  liave  the 
perfect  exemplification  of  the  law  which  he  gave.  Had 
the  New  Testament  been  but  a  code  of  morals,  without 
the  light  which  the  character  of  Jesus  sheds  upon  it,  it 
would  not  have  engaged,  as  it  has,  the  attention  and 
reverence  of  mankind.  "Love  your  enemies,"  is  a 
noble  precept ;  but  had  it  stood  alone,  men  would  have 
disregarded  it,  as  difficult  to  understand,  and  impossible 
to  obey.  It  was  the  exemplification  of  the  precept  by 
Jesus  himself,  when  on  the  cross  he  prayed,  "Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do,"  that 
made  it  at  once  intelligible  and  impressive.*  And  so 
of  the  whole  law  which  the  Savior  taught.  We  know 
what  is  meant  by  the  love  of  God  and  man,  because  we 
see  them  illustrated  in  him.  We  learn  from  the  scene 
in  Gethsemane  the  spirit  in  which  we  should  pray,  from 
the  scene  on  Calvary  that  in  which  we  should  suffer. 
And  not  only  does  the  life  of  Jesus  thus  make  clear  to 
us  the  meaning  of  his  precepts,  but  showing  us  the 
divine  beauty  of  virtue,  it  engages  our  emotions  of  ad- 
miration, love,  and  gratitude,  to  aid  in  the  fulfilment  of 
the  duties  pointed  out. 

We  may  say  more  than  this.     The  character  of  Jesus 

*  It  is  an  illustration  of  the  difficulty  which  the  most  enlightened 
Christians  find,  of  rising  to  the  full  height  of  tiieir  Master's  spirit, 
that  the  author  of  '•  Ecce  Homo,"  in  the  same  hook  which  contains 
the  beautiful  chapter  on  Forgiveness,  endeavors  to  explain  away  the 
prayer  of  Jesus  on  the  cross,  as  if  he  had  in  mind  only  the  Koman 
executioners  I     Ecce  Homo,  chap,  xxi.,  page  298. 


MORAL  EVIDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


89 


is  itself  a  revelation  to  mankind  of  the  character  of 
God.  Heathenism  endeavored  to  represent  that  which 
is  divine  by  earthly  emblems,  by  images  made  in  forms 
sometimes  bestial,  sometimes  grotesque,  sometimes  in 
all  the  beauty  and  dignity  with  which  Grecian  genius 
could  invest  the  human  figure.  Christianity  forbids  all 
such  representations  as  unworthy,  but  it  gives  us  a  nobler 
image  of  the  Deity  in  an  exalted  human  soul.  This 
alone  can  rightly  represent  God  to  man.  For  man  is 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  intellectually  and  morally ; 
and  the  highest  conception  we  can  form  of  our  Creator 
is  to  take  what  is  noblest  and  holiest  in  man,  and  com- 
bine with  it  the  attribute  of  infinity.  That  we  may  do 
this  more  worthily,  there  has  been  placed  before  us  a 
perfect  human  being.  He  possessed  that  perfection  by 
a  most  intimate  union  with  God.  "  I  am  in  the  Father," 
he  said,  "and  the  Father  in  me."  (John  xiv.  10.) 
How  that  union  was  attained.  Christians  have  not  agreed 
in  conceiving.  An  interesting  view  is  that  of  Schleier- 
macher,  who  maintains  that  Christ  possessed,  by  especial 
divine  gift,  a  consciousness  of  the  presence  of  God,  so 
entire  as  to  conform  his  own  will  in  all  things  to  that  of 
the  Being  whom  he  felt  as  dwelling  within  him ;  that 
he  thus  was  the  crowning  miracle  of  creation,  the  com- 
i)letion  of  the  grand  succession  of  God's  works,  the 
Perfect  Man.* 

It  is  in  consequence  of  this  union  of  Christ  with  God, 
that  believers  are  able  to  attain  a  more  devoted  rever- 

♦  See  an  article  on  "  Sclilcicrmachcr  and  his  View  of  Christ,"  in 
the  Monthly  Religious  Magazine  for  February,  1869,  by  the  author 
of  this  voliyue. 


* 
1 


90 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


ence,  .a  more  tender  love,  towards  the  Almighty,  since 
they  can  contemplate  him  in  Christ.  In  the  purity  of 
Jesus  we  see  imaged  to  us  the  holiness  of  God ;  in  the 
Sav  ior's  miracles  *we  discern  the  power  and  the  mercy 
of  Him  from  whom  he  came ;  above  all,  in  the  whole 
life  of  Jesus,  devoted  to  the  rescue  of  mankind  from 
sin,  and  accomplishing  that  object  even  by  the  death  of 
the  cross,  we  have  the  most  vivid  representation  possible 
of  the  infinite  love  of  God  to  man,  and  of  the  strenirth 
of  his  purpose  that  his  human  children  should  become 
holy. 

In  one  respect  this  view  of  "  God  in  Christ "  appears 
more  important  in  this  age  than  ever  before.  The 
refinement  of  modern  ideas,  through  the  progress  of 
science,  has  done  much  to  weaken  our  conception  of  the 
personality  of  God  ;  and  there  is  danger  that  by  the 
habit  of  referring  the  phenomena  of  nature  to  mechani- 
cal and  chemical  forces,  we  may  cease  to  recognize  the 
living  power  of  GckI's  will ;  and  that  as  by  reasoning 
we  conclude  that  he  can  have  no  emotions  that  imply 
change  and  weakness,  w^e  may  be  tempted  to  doubt  the 
efficacy  of  prayer,  and  even  lose-tlie  conviction  of  God's 
love,  his  justice,  and  his  compassion.  But  we  cannot 
understand  the  Infinite  by  contemplating  him  in  one 
aspect  alone.  In  the  boundless  deep  of  his  nature, 
qualities  that  seem  to  us  opposed  mav  co-exist,  as  rivers 
run  into  the  ocean  from  opposite  shores,  pud  find  their 
resting-place  sufficient  to  contain  them  all.  If  we  would 
escape  from  tlie  coldness  of  Pantheism,  it  unist  be  by 
contemplating  God  as  revealed  to  us  ju  the  word^  of 
Christ,  and  as  imaged  forth  to  us  \ii  his  tender  and  ^x 
alted  character. 


MORAL   EVIDENCE  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


91 


Thirdly,  the  religion  of  Christ  claims  our  belief,  by 
the  power  it  has  evinced  to  nerve  and  sustain  its  martyrs. 
The  first  and  greatest  of  these  was  the  Savior  himself. 
The  next  that  died  in  attestation  of  his  Gospel  had  learned 
from  him  to  pray  for  the  forgiveness  of  his  enemies. 
(Acts  vii.  GO.)  From  that  time  forward,  for  near  three 
hundred  years,  Jewish  and  heathen  hatred  called  the 
church  to  sustain  a  succession  of  persecutions,  endured 
with  constancy  and  meekness  that  well  illustrated  the 
power  of  their  faith.  Men  in  the  feebleness  of  age, 
like  Polycarp,  found  strength  to  be  firm  to  the  end ; 
philosophers  like  Justin  showed  that  the  life  of  a  student 
had  not  taken  from  them  the  couraoe  to  face  danirer  :  and 
women  of  gentle  nurture,  like  Perpctua,  could  withstand 
the  entreaties  of  a  father,  and  the  unconscious  pleading 
of  an  infant  child,  alike  urging  them  to  save  their  lives 
by  apostasy. 

The  constancy  of  these  martyrs  shows  the  power  of 
the  religion  by  which  tliey  \vere  sustained.  In  the  case 
of  the  earliest,  as  of  those  among  the  apostles  who  thus 
suffered  death,  and  of  the  evangelists  who  encountered 
the  danger  of  it,  their  constancy  gave  the  most  convinc- 
ing assurance  of  their  faithfulness  in  the  accounts  they 
had  given  of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus.  Tlie  testi- 
mony of  the  later  martyrs  has  been  invalidated  by  refer- 
ring to  instances  in  which  similar  sufferings  have  been 
endured  with  similar  constancy,  in  the  defence  of  error. 
Thus  in  those  mutual  persecutions  of  Catholic  and  Prot- 
estant, which  have  been  the  shame  of  past  centuries, 
the  victims  cannot  all  have  been  martyrs  for  the  truth  ; 
yet  there  was  no  difference  in  the  firmness  with  which 
they  bore  their  suflferings.     Thus  Ptenan,  in-  his  book 


92 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


on  the  Acts,  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  sect  of 
Babists,  in  Persia,  and  the  persecutions  endured  by  tliem 
in  our  own  age.  But  in  all  these  cases,  we  may  reply, 
the  sufferers  not  only  were  sustained  by  their  own  ardent 
faith,  but  they  had  before  theui  the  example  of  the  early 
Christian  martyrs  ;  for  it  is  probable  that  traditions  of 
that  example  had  been  preserved,  even  in  Persia.  ^Vc 
desire  not,  however,  to  strain  this  argument  too  far. 
Let  it  be  enough  that  it  fully  proves  the  sincerity  of  the 
early  Christians,  and  the  power  of  their  religion  to  sus- 
tain them  in  the  extremity  of  suffering. 

Yet  again,  Christianity  claims  reception  from  us,  for 
the  aid  it  has  given  in  the  diffusion  of  intelligence,  the 
advancement  of  civilization,  the  im[)rovement  of  the  con- 
dition of  mankind.     The  social  evils  which  yet  remain 
ure  so  great  that  as  we  look  upon  them  we  are  apt  to 
feel  as  if  nothing  had  been  gained,  and  the  Gospel,  as 
respects  its  influence  over  human  society  at  large,  had 
been  a  failure.     But  it  is  because  we  see  only  the  pres- 
ent, that  we  do  not  realize  its  immense  superiority  to  the 
heathen  past.     Much  also  is  to  be  allowed  for  a  coun- 
teracting cause,  which,  but  for  Christianity,  would  have 
carried  back  the  world  to  utter  barbarism.     This  was 
the  invasion  and  conquest  of  the  Koman  Empire  by  the 
wild  hordes  of  northern  Europe.     Centuries  of  corrup- 
tion, with  luxury,  idolatry,  and  despotism,  had  so  weak- 
ened the  manhood  of  the  southern  regions,  that  not  even 
the  adoption  of  Christianity  could  win  back  for  the  Em- 
pire more  than  a  transitory  splendor ;  and  the  transfer 
of  the  seat  of  government  to  the  East,  left  the  Western 
portion  the  most  feebly  defended,  while  it  was  the  moat 
strongly   attacked.      Thus,    in   the   fifth   century,    the 


MORAL  EVIDENCE   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


93 


Christian  Empire  of  Rome  came  to  an  end.  The  coun- 
tries that  composed  it,  Italy,  France,  Spain,  and  Brit- 
ain, with  some  regions  to  the  north  and  the  south  of 
these,  were  overwhelmed  by  a  flood  of  barbarism. 
Science,  art,  and  learning  were  objects  of  indifference, 
if  not  of  scorn,  to  the  fierce  invaders  ;  but  in  the  relin-ion 
of  the  nations  they  had  conquered,  they  found  that 
which  could  first  restrain  and  then  elevate  and  enlighten 
them.  The  Christian  priests  were  the  civilizers  of  the 
new  barbarism.  The  monastic  institutions,  which  we 
are  apt  to  regard  as  monuments  alone  of  folly  and  indo- 
lence, were  providentially  made,  first,  the  retreat  of 
learning  and  piety  before  the  barbarian  sword,  and  then 
the  central  points  of  missionary  effort,  to  teach  the  con- 
quering savages  alike  tlie  arts  of  this  life,  and  the  holy 
ductrines  connected  with  the  life  to  come.  Yet  it  was 
centuries  before  Europe  attained  a  stage  in  civilization, 
corresponding  to  that  which  it  had  lost.  The  influence 
of  Christianity,  then,  though  ceaselessly  at  work,   has 

been  delayed,  for  a  period  of  seven  hundred  years, 

from  the  fifth  to  the  twelfth  century,  —  by  its  contest 
with  the  barbarism  of  the  northern  nations.  When,  at 
length,  civilization  prevailed,  it  was  Christianity  that 
had  won  its  battle. 

We  may  discern  the  power  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
in  the  removal  of  evil  institutions,  by  a  glance  at  the 
history  of  domestic  slavery.  That  hideous  system  has 
been  overthrown  in  three  successive  forms,  and  ever  by 
the  influence  of  Christian  truth.  First,  in  the  classic 
form,  the  worst  of  all  in  one  respect,  because  it  gave 
the  master  the  power  of  life  and  death.  Some  progress 
had  been  made,  even  under  the  heathen  Emperoi^s,  in 


94 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


fiivor  of  humanity  to  the  bonamau  ;  but  it  was  by  edicts 
of  Con^^tantine  tliat  the  nuinler  of  a  shive  was  phiced  on 
the  «au»c  level  with  that  of  a  freeman,  and  that  the  for- 
cible separation  of  famiUes  was  forbidden.*     By  these 
and   similar   laws,   and  still  more   by  the   influence   of 
Christianity  on  the  hearts  of  individual  masters,  Koman 
slavery  gradually  passed  away.     Then  came  the  lighter 
form  of'^feudal  villeinage  ;  to  perish  in  its  turn  by  the 
advance  of  a  civilization  which  Christianity  guided,  and 
in  no  small  degree  by  the  direct  interference  of  Christian 
ministers.     "  When  the  dying  slaveholder,"  says  Mac- 
aulay,  "  asked  for  the  sacraments,  his  spiritual  attend- 
ants  regularly  adjured   him,   as  he   loved   his   soul,  to 
emancipate  his  brethren,  for  whom  Christ  had  died.    So 
successfully  had  the  Church  used  her  formidable  ma- 
chinery,  tiiat   before   the    Reformation   came,    slie   had 
enfranchised  almost  all   the   bondmen  in  the  kingdom 
excci)t  her  own,  who,  to  do  her  justice,  seem  to  have 
been  very  tenderly  treated."  f 

Last  came  the  American  form  of  slavery.  We  have 
seen  this  pass  away  before  the  storm  of  civil  war ;  but 
the  war  itself  would  not  have  taken  place  but  for  the 
increasing  opposition  to  the  continuance  of  the  slave 
system,  and  the  certainty  that  the  power  to  maintain  it 
against  that  opposition  was  gradually  passing  away. 
And  though  the  church  has  often  been  angrily  charged 
with  indifference  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  yet  the  im- 
pulse of  the  anti-slavery  movement  came  from  Chris- 
tianity. It  was  from  the  principles  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  that  the  foremost  champion  and  the  foremost 

*  Penny  Cyclopocdia,  Art,  Slavery, 
t  History  of  England,  Cliaptur  I. 


MORAL   EVIDENCE   OF   CHRISTIAITY. 


95 


poet  among  the  Abolitionists  derived  their  reverence  for 
the  rights  of  man.  Christian  ministers,  Channinor  and 
Follen,  and  many  others,  were  among  the  prominent 
advocates  of  the  cause  ;  and  if  the  defenders  of  the  evil 
institution  brought  up  in  its  favor  some  obscure  pas- 
sages, principally  from  the  Old  Testament,  these  were 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  plain  teaching  of 
the  Bible,  that  all  men  are  children  of  God,  destined 
alike  to  immortality,  and  that  justice  and  benevolence 
are  to  be  shown  to  all.  Thus  for  the  third  time,  it  was 
Christianity  before  which  slavery  gave  way. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel  in  other  departments  of  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion. But  the  repeated  abolition  of  slavery  may  serve 
as  a  suflScient  example.  We  hope,  too,  that  the  subject 
may  be  presented  to  the  public  with  a  fulness  adapted 
to  its  importance,  by  the  publication  of  the  Lectures 
delivered  recently  before  the  Lowell  Listitute,  on  the 
Debt  of  the  World  to  Christianity,  by  our  friend  the 
President  of  Meadville  Theological  School. 

It  is  a  great  error  to  suppose  that  Christianity  rests 
alone  on  outward  miracles  as  evidences  of  its  truth. 
Besides  the  characteristics  of  it  which  have  been  named, 
there  are  other  proofs  of  its  divine  excellence  which  may 
well  be  called  moral  miracles.  Its  very  existence  is 
such  a  miracle,  when  viewed  in  connection  with  its  early 
history.  That  a  peasant  of  Galilee,  whom  his  country- 
men caused  to  be  crucified,  should  have  put  down  the 
mighty  idolatry  of  Eome,  and  established  the  belief  in 
his  teachings  as  the  religion  of  civilized  mankind,  is  a 
miracle  grander  than  that  he  should  have  raised  the 


96 


EVIDENCES  OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


MORAL   EVIDENCE   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


97 


dead.     In  the  words  of  Coleridge,  "  Christendom  is  the 
best  proof  of  Christianity." 

Again,  at  the  present  day,  the  moral  and  spiritual 
efficacy  of  Christianity  is  a  constant  succession  of  won- 
ders. Still  docs  Jesus  make  the  blind  to  see ;  for  he 
opens  the  mental  eye  which  sin  had  darkened,  that  it 
may  discern  what  is  beautiful  and  glorious  in  purity, 
peace,  justice,  and  benevolence.  Still  does  he  bid  the 
lame  walk  ;  for  he  aids  the  unsteady  feet  of  the  wanderer 
from  virtue  to  re-enter  and  to  pursue  her  sacred  paths. 
Still  does  he  raise  the  dead,  the  morally  dead,  the  "dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins,"  to  a  better  life  than  had  been 
theirs  before.  Not  then  alone  by  visible  miracles  in 
the  distant  past,  not  by  voices  speaking  alone  to  one 
favored  nation,  but  by  testimonies  ever  recurring,  and 
which  every  willing  mind  can  comprehend,  does  God 
accredit  to  us  his  sacred  messenjrer. 

AkGOIENT   of   ScnLEIERMACIIER. 

Those  disciples  of  the  Transcendental  Philosophy  who 
have  retained  their  Christian  faith,  have  naturally  relied 
rather  on  arguments  of  the  kind  now  before  us,  than  on 
the  evidence  of  miracles.  It  will  be  our  endeavor,  in 
what  remains  of  this  chapter,  to  point  out  the  path 
which  some  of  them  have  pursued,  by  developing  the 
train  of  thought  upon  this  subject,  as  presented  in  vari- 
ous portions  of  Schleiermacher's  great  work  on  "  Chris- 
tian Faith,"  and  in  the  last  of  his  "  Discourses  on 
Keligion." 

Keligious  systems,  this  writer  observes,  are  distin- 
guished into  the  Natural  and  the  Positive.     Positive 


w 


\ 


religions  are  those  which  claim  to  have  been  revealed 
from  some  superhuman  source ;  Natural  religion,  that 
which  is  authenticated  by  nature  alone.  This,  however, 
it  will  be  found  by  universal  experience,  never  exists  by 
itself,  as  the  actual  faith  of  any  portion  of  mankind.  It 
derives  its  origin  from  the  positive  religions  of  the  world  ; 
the  process  for  its  attainment  being  to  compare  these  in 
their  highest  forms,  —  the  Christian,  the  Jewish,  and 
the  Mohammedan,  —  to  leave  out  whatever  is  peculiar 
to  any  one  of  them,  reserving  only  those  great  truths  in 
which  they  all  unite. 

It  follows  from  this,  that  Theism,  as  Natural  reli- 
gion is  sometimes  designated,  cannot  fairly  claim  to  be 
a  rival  of  Christianity.     It  is,  in  fact,  only  Christianity 
abridged.     What  it  teaches  is  true,  but  it  is  not  truth 
which    philosophers   discovered    for    themselves.       The 
people  had  it  before  the  philosophers.     The  part  which 
the  latter  had  in  its  preparation  was  not  that  of  devel- 
opment, but  of  mere  omission.     The  truth  of  Christian- 
ity, then,  is  acknowledged  by  its  opponents,  in  regard 
to  much  that  is  of  most  importance  in  its  teachings,  as. 
the  Being  and  the  Unity  of  God,  his  Fatherly  love,  his 
providential  care,  the  future  life  of  man,  and  his  account- 
ableness  for  his  conduct.     And  these  opponents  never 
would   have  attained  these  truths,  had  they  not  been 
contained  in  those  systems  of  Positive  religion,  among, 
which  Christianity  is  acknowledged  by  all  to  hold  the 
highest  place. 

Claiming  thus  in  behalf  of  Christianity  the  honor 
which  has  been  appropriated  by  Theism,  we  can,  by  a 
chain  of  argument,  prove  more  distinctly  the  claims  of 
our  religion  to  the  character  of  a  revelation  from  above. 

7 


98 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


In  tl,e  first  place,  the  position  is  laid  clown  that  a 
religious  community  cannot  derive  its  ori-in  from  cir- 
cumstances entirely  within  the  comn,unity  ^hich  preced- 
ed U.  To  produce  a  new  effect,  there  must  be  a  new 
cause.  A  system  of  religion  worn  into  fonnalism,  and 
from  which  all  living  spirit  had  departed,  could  not  of 
Itself  break  forth  into  new  life,  adoj.t  new  doctrines  and 
forms,  and  f.unish  the  impulse  to  a  new  activity 

In  the  origin  of  all  new  systems,  then,  the  establish- 
ment of  great  religious  communities,  wc  must  recognize, 
besKlcs   preceding   circumstances,   the   working   rf  an 
ongmal  personality.     The  new  law  comes  from  a  new 
prophet ;  or  rather,  since  a  new  law  alone  cannot  prop- 
erly be  called  a  new  religion,  and  the  office  of  prophet 
IS  not  identical  with  that  of  religious  founder,  the  new 
system  of  faith  requires  as  its  producing  cause,  a  per- 
sonage of  high  endowments,  eminently  possessed  of  the 
powers  of  discovering  and  communicating  truth,  and  of 
exercising  control  over  his  fellow-beings.     To  the  im- 
pulse which  raises  up  and  empowers  such  a  persona-e, 
the  tern,  inspiration  may  not  improperlv  be  applied.  ° 

buch  has  been  the  origin,  so  fur  as" we  can  discern, 
of  all  great  systems  of  religion.     In  regard   to  some 
forms,  their  date  goes  back  to  such  distant  periods  that 
their  actual  history  cannot  be  traced.     And  some,  as 
the  Greek  and  Roman  mythology,  present  a  conglom- 
eration of  different  previous  systems  of  faith.     Bu't  his- 
tory, so  far  as  we  can  trace  it,  agrees  with  the  principle 
thus  reached  by  transcendental  reasoning,  that  when  the 
mm.ls  of  great  masses  of  men  have  been  stirred  to  the 
adoption  of  a  new  religious  system,  it  was  because  they 
were  under  the  influence  of  an  inspired  leader 


MORAL  EVIDENCE  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


99 


f| 


I 


^  But  all  such  leaders,  except  one,   have  shown   the 
limits  of  their  inspiration  by  admitting  into  their  systems 
tlie  qualifying  inthicnces  of  space  and  time.     They  have 
been  local,  national,  not  universal.     Bralnninism  owns 
the  sacred  river  and  the  sacred  mountain  of  Ilindostan. 
Alohammedanism,  in  its  frecpicnt  ablutions,  marks  itself 
as  the  religion  of  a  warm  climate,  and  calls  its  votaries 
to  pilgrimages  which  would  be  impossible  to  those  living 
fit  a  distance  from  its  Arabian  birthplace.     Judaism  is 
confessedly  tlic  system  of  a  single  people,  and  a  single 
small  province  ;  however,  its  limitation  may  be  justified 
in  view  of  its  being  only  preliminary  to  a  more  full  rev- 
elation.    Christianity  alone  is  for  all  men,  everywhere ; 
adapted  equally  to  the  savage  and  the  sage,  the  Asiatic 
and  the  European,  not  localizing  the  dwelling  of  the 
Almighty  in  a  temple  or  mountain,  nor  confining  his 
worship  to  any  form  of  sacrifice  or  order  of  priesthood. 
The  principles  it  inculcates  are  the  universal  ones  of 
truth,  purity,  justice,  and  benevolence,  with  trust  and 
love  towards  God.     In  view  of  this,  its  essential  char- 
acteristic, Christianity  holds  of  right  the  position  of  the 
universal,  the  absolute  religion.     Whatever  would  other- 
wise claim  the  name  of  revelation,  ceases  to  merit  it  in  the 
presence  of  this ;  and  if  the  founders  of  other  systems 
may  be  said  in  some  degree  to  be  inspired,  of  Christ  it 
may  be  truly  said  that  the  Father  "  giveth  not  the  spirit 
by  measure  unto  him." 

Again,  if  wc  look  more  closely  to  the  great  idea  of 
the  Christian  revelation,  we  find  in  it  what  we  can  trace 
only  to  a  source  more  than  human.  That  idea  is  of 
redemption  from  the  power  of  sin.  Our  consciousness 
as  human  beings  tells  us  of  want,  deficiency,  impurity 


100 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


m  ourselves;  our  consciousness  as  Christians  tells  of 
this  want  supplied,   this  deficiency  met,   this  impurity 
changed  to  purity,  by  the  influence  of  our  religion.      To 
what  can  we  trace  such  thoughts  and  feelinrr/?     X^^  to 
the  ordinary  powers  and   influences   of  hunmn  nature ; 
for  what  is  pure  can  never  be  introduced  by  the  inter- 
course of  the  impure.     "  It  must  be  from  a  source  which 
was    pure   in    itself,  —  and   this   sinless   source  is   thus 
identified   with   the  Founder  of  Christianity.     By   the 
common   rule,  of  reasoning   from   effect   to   cause,   we 
trace  back  the  purifying  influence  of  our  faith  upon  our 
own  hearts  to  the  pure  and  holy  Savior.     For  the  work 
of  redemption  in  which  he  leads  us,  no  human  source  is 
suflSciently  exalted;   we  must  trace  it,  then,  to  a  divine 
source,  recognizing  in  him  one  who  possessed  that  per- 
fect sinlessness  which  marked  Iiim  as  the  representative 
of  God  to  man."* 

The  thoughts  thus  presented  are  in  part  the  same 
which  have  been  offered  in  an  earlier  chapter  of  this 
book,  respecting  tlie  universality  of  Christ's  teachinirs, 
and  their  adaptation  to  the  nature  of  man.  The  ar«^u- 
nient  of  the  illustrious  German  is  but  a  development'^of 
that  process  of  the  heart  by  which  one  who  has  been 
under  the  dominion  of  sin  recognizes  the  Gospel  as  that 
which  has  brought  him  deliverance,  and  rests  his  faith 
on  Christ,  because  he  has  experienced  his  worth  as  a 
Savior. 

♦  Schleiormucher,    Der    Christliche    Glaube,    and    Reden;    also 
Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus.     Section  148. 


ATTEMPTS  TO   ALTER  OR  IMPROVE  CHRISTIANITY.      101 


<Jl» 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Attempts  to  Alter  or  Improve  Christianity. 

The  force  of  the  moral  argument  for  Christianity  has 
been  felt  by  many  minds,  which  would  have  been  slow 
to  receive  the  religion  on  the  evidence  of  miracle.  Of 
this  class,  probably  the  greater  part  have,  for  the  sake  of 
the  internal  proof,  quieted  their  own  doubts  with  regard 
to  the  external.  Others,  however,  have  thought  that  a 
distinction  might  be  made  between  Christianity  as  a 
moral  system,  and  Christianity  as  an  historical  and  super- 
natural religion.  The  attempt  to  mark  this  distinction 
has  been  made  by  two  persons,  eminent  alike  for  char- 
acter and  station. 

President  Jefferson,  in  those  hours  which  he  found, 
even  among  the  cares  of  state,  to  hold  intercourse  with 
the  highest  thoughts,  prepared  an  arrangement  of  the 
life  and  teachings  of  Jesus,  leaving  out  all  that  was  out- 
wardly miraculous.     Ilis  biographer  says  :  — 

"  The  book  oftenest  chosen  for  reading  for  an  hour  or 
half  an  hour  before  going  to  bed  w\as  a  collection  of 
extracts  from  the  Bible.  During  the  year  1803,  while 
Mr.  Jefferson  was  in  AVashington,  '  overwhelmed  with 
other  business,'  he  spent  two  or  three  nights,  'after 
getting  through  the  evening  task  of  reading  the  letters 
and  papers  of  the  day,'  in  cutting  such  passages  from 
the  evangelists  as  he  believed  emanated  directly  from 


102 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


the  lips  of  the  Savior,  and  he  arranirea  them  in  an 
octavo  volume  of  forty-six  pages.  Tlii.^selection  is  thus 
described  by  him  to  his  revolutionary  friend,  Charles 
Thompson,  January  9th,  1810. 

" '  I,  too,  have  made  a  wee  little  book  from  the  same 
materials,  which  I  call  the  Philosophy  of  Jesus.     It  is  a 
paradigma  of  his  doctrines,  made  by  cutting  the  texts 
out  of  the  book,  and  arranging  thcni  on  the^pages  of  a 
blank  book,  in  a  certain  order  of  time  or  subject.     A 
more  beautiful  or  precious  morsel  of  ethics  I  have  never 
seen ;  it  is  a  document  in  proof  that  /am  a  real  Chris- 
iian,  that  is  to  say,  a  disciple  of  the  doctrines  of  Jesus,  " 
very  different  from  the  Platonists,  who  call  me  infidel 
and  themselves  Christians  and  preachers  of  the  Gospel, 
while   tliey   draw   all  their  characteristic   dogmas   from 
what  its  author  never  said  nor  saw.     Thcyliave  com- 
pounded from  the  heathen  mysteries  a  system   beyond 
the  comprehension  of  man,  of  which  the  great  reformer 
of  the  vicious  ethics  and  deism  of  the  Jews,  were  he  to 
return  to  earth,  would  not  recognize  one  feature.     If  I 
had  time  I  would  add  to  my  little  book  the  Greek,  Latin, 
and  French  texts,  in  columns  side  by  side.'  '     " 

"It  was  in  the  winter  of  1816-17,  it  is  believed,  that 
Mr.  Jefferson  carried  out  the  design  last  expressed.  In 
a  handsome  morocco-bound  volume,  labelled  on  the 
back,  'Morals  of  Jesus,'  he  placed  the  parallel  texts  in 
four  lann:uao:es." 

"It  is  remarkable  that  neither  of  these  collections 
were  known  to  Mr.  Jefferson's  grandchildren  until  after 
his  death.  They  then  learned  from  a  letter  addressed 
to  a  friend  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  nightly 
from  them  before  going  to  bed." 


<i. 


ATTEMPTS    TO    ALTER    OR    IMPROVE    CHRISTIANITY.     103 

The  above  extracts  are  from  Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson, 
Volume  III.,  pages  451,  452.  In  the  Appendix  are 
given  the  Tables  of  Contents  of  the  two  volumes.  The 
title  of  the  earlier  collection  is  "  The  Philosophy  of  Je- 
sus of  Nazareth,  extracted  from  the  account  of  his  life 
and  doctrines  as  given  by  ]\Iatthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John.  Being  an  abridgment  of  the  Xew  Testament  for 
the  use  of  the  Indians,  unembarrassed  with  matters  of 
fact  or  faith  beyond  tlie  level  of  their  comprehensions." 

There  is  something  deeply  interesting  in  the  view  thus 
given,  of  the  President,  amid  the  pressing  claims  of  his 
office,  caring  thus  for  the  spiritual  elevation  of  that  race 
which  was  passing  away  before  the  advance  of  his  own ; 
and  seeking  the  means  for  their  improvement  in  those 
Scriptures  whose  supernatural  authority,  it  is  probable, 
he  did  not  receive. 

More  recently,  the  distinguished  East  Indian,  Ram- 
mohun  Roy,  published  for  the  benefit  of  his  countrymen 
a  compilation  which  he  called  "  The  Precepts  of  Jesus, 
the  Guide  to  Peace  and  Happiness."     It  consisted  of 
the  teachings  of  the   Savior,  extracted   from   the  four 
Gospels,  but  omitting,  as  far  as  possible,  the  connecting 
narrative.     Much  interest  was  excited  in  England  and 
in  this  country,  by  what  was  confidently  regarded  as  the 
conversion  of  a  learned  and  virtuous  heathen,  to  Chris- 
tianity.    Rammohun  Roy  expressed  no  disrespect  to  the 
historical  parts  of  the  Scriptures  ;  but  he  thought  it  un- 
necessary and  useless  to  present  them  to  his  countrymen, 
conceiving  that  the  miraculous  accounts  they  contained 
would  rather  excite  prejudice  than  allay  it.     Whether 
Rammohun  Roy  himself  believed  fully  in  Christianity  as 
a  divine  revelation,  is  a  subject  on  which  opinions  have 


1^ 


\^\ 


11' 


104 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


differed.  His  intercourse  and  apparent  sympathy  for 
years  were  chiefly  with  Unitarians  ;  but  after  his  death, 
he  was  claimed  by  some  as  a  convert  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  Church  of  England.  He  had  not,  however, 
openly  renounced  the  Hindoo  religion,  and  embraced 
the  Christian,  by  receiving  baptism,  but  retained  his 
rank  as  a  Brahmin  to  the  last. 

An  opinion  respecting  Jesus,  similar  to  that  expressed 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  appears  to  be  entertained  by  some  of 
the  more  liberal-minded  of  the  modern  Jews.     A  re- 
markable book  was  published  at  Altona  in  1853,  enti- 
tled "  History  of  Kabbi  Jeshua,  the  son  of  Joseph,  the 
Nazarene,  called  Jesus  Christ"  (Geschichte  des  Rabbi 
Jeschua  ben  Joszcf  hanootzri,  genannt  Jesus  Christus). 
The  author,  a  Jewish  Rationalist,  maintains  that  Jesus, 
though  no  worker  of  miracles,  was  a  wise  and  good  re- 
former, who  suflxired  by  an  unjust  sentence,  in  conse- 
quence  of  his   patriotic   and   devout   endeavors.      He 
claims  to  be  sustained  in  this  opinion  by  ancient  manu- 
scripts to  which  he  has  had  access ;  but  fails  to  give  a 
distinct  and  satisfiictory  account  of  their  antiquity  and 
authority.     To  the  same  effect  he  quotes  the  language 
of  an  older  Jewish  writer,  a  Rabbi  among  the  Karaite's, 
a  sect  of  the  Jews  who  own  the  authority  of  the  Old 
Testament  alone,    rejecting  the  Rabbinical   traditions. 
His  words  are  as  follows  :  "  Rabbi  Jeshua  was,  accord- 
ing to  the  opinion  of  the  friends  of  truth,  a  wise  man, 
pious,  righteous,  and  God-fearing,  and  shunned  what 
was  evil.     He  gave  no  command  nor  discourse  which 
varied  from  the  written  divine  law,  much  less  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  teaching  of  Moses."    He  goes  on  to  say 
that  different  doctrines  were  introduced  afterwards  by 
the  followers  of  Jesus,  and  especially  by  Paul. 


A 


J 


m] 


% 


ATTEMPTS    TO    ALTER    OR   IMPROVE    CHRISTIANITY.       105 

We   shall    have    occasion   hereafter   to  examine  the 
credibility  of  this  supposition,   in  connection  with  the 
theory  of  Dr.  Baur,  which  strongly  resembles  it.     The 
question,  too,  whether  it  is  possible,  with  fairness  and 
consistency,  to  separate  the  natural  and  the  supernat- 
ural in  the  Savior's  life  and  teacliings,  believing  the  one 
and  rejecting  the  other,  will  best  be  answeredafter  an 
examination  of  the  historical  record,  and  of  the  evidence 
on  which  it  rests.     At  present,  these  various  attempts 
in  that  direction  are  introduced  for  the  testimony  borne 
to  the  surpassing  excellence  of  the  Christian  religion,  by 
persons  who  refuse  to  receive  it  as  a  miraculous  revela- 
tion. 

It  is  observable,  too,  that  the  approval  thus  expressed 
is  not  pronounced  upon  a  mere  selection  from  the  words 
of  Jesus  ;  as  a  modern  scliolar,  searching  through  the 
idolatrous  prayers  of  the  Vedas,  may  find  here  and 
there  a  lofty  thouglit ;  but  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Rammohun 
Roy  took  the  whole  of  the  Savior's  precepts,  finding 
nothing  in  the  Gospels  to  reject  except  the  miracles. 
The  approval  of  the  Karaite  Rabbi  is  expressed  in  words 
not  less  comprehensive. 

But  there  are  those  who  argue  that  however  excellent 
the  character  of  Jesus  and  his  precepts  may  have  been, 
and  however  important  the  moral  revolution  which  he 
effected  in  the  world,  there  is  no  propriety  in  receivino- 
him  or  his  instructions  "  as  a  finality."  The  Gospel, 
according  to  this  view,  is  a  thing  of  the  past ;  its  work 
was  part  of  that  to  which  all  ages  have  contributed,  in 
building  up  the  civilization  of  the  present.  Whether 
the  principles  which  Jesus  taught  were  original  with 
him  or  not,  and  whether  he  held  them  with  any  mixture 


106 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


of  erroi-,  are  now,  it  may  be  said,  questions  of  small 
importance.  The  world  has  learned  what  was  valuable 
in  the  lessons  of  Jesus  :  what  matters  it  from  whom  the 
instruction  came?  Galileo  discovered  that  the  earth 
revolves  on  its  axis.  We  all  believe  this  truth ;  but 
wlio  now  reads  the  writings  of  Galileo,  or  cares  about 
the  laborious  process  by  which  he  may  have  attained 
the  knowledge  that  is  now  so  familiar  ? 

To  this  we  reply,  that  it  is  not  with  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  as  it  is  with  the  W(n'ks  of  discoveries  in  natural 
science.     When  the  princii)les  they  have  searched  out 
are  once  made  known,  the  obvious  wants  of  man  cause 
them  to  be  employed.     Men  need  food  and  clothing; 
they  desire  the  comforts  of  life,  and  aspire  after  its  lux- 
uries ;   there  is  no  danger  then  that  their  knowledge  of 
the  ways  and  means  of  gaining  these  objects  will  be  un- 
used.    But  the  spiritual  wants  of  man  are  not  so  press- 
ing in  their  claims.     It  is  not  enough  that  men  should 
know  what   is   morally  right,  in   order  to   secure  their 
doing  it.     There  must  be  motives,  sanctions  accompany- 
ing the  law,  to  insure  for  it  attention  and   obedience. 
These  motives,  these  sanctions,  are  found  in  Christianity, 
considered  as  of  divine  revelation.     If  Jesus  had  arrived 
at  the  knowledge  of  the  true  principles  of  virtue  by  the 
exercise  of  unaided  human  powers,  if  he  had  enforced 
his  precepts  only  by  prudential  maxims  having  applica- 
tion to  the  present  lile,  then  his  teachings  might  have 
been  classed  with  those  of  other  discoverers.     But  it  is 
not  so.     He  taught  in  the  name  of  God.     He  claimed 
authority  ae   one  whom   the   Father   had   sanctified   and 
sent.     His  words  are  in  the  accent  of  command.     They 
are  not  to  be  assented  to  as  good  reasoning,  but  to  be 


A 


m 


ATTEMPTS   TO   ALTER   OR   IMPRROVE   CHRISTIANITY.       107 

obeyed  as  laws.     And  their  authority  as  laws  is  sub- 
stantiated by  the  sanctions  both  of  reward  and  punish- 
ment,  and  of  each  of  these  in  the  future  world  as  well 
as  in  this.     Xor  are  these  solenm  sanctions,  nor  is  this 
voice  of  authority  superfluous,  in  reference  to  the  class 
of  subjects  upon  which  they  are  employed  :  for  there  are 
so  many  temptations  to  do  wrong,  so  many  difficulties 
m  the  way  of  doing  right,  that  even  with  all  the  advan- 
tage we  have  in  being  thus  taught  of  God,  we  are  apt 
contmually  to  wander  into  evil.     We  cannot  dispense 
then  with  this  authority,  these  threatenings,  these  prom- 
ises.    We  need  them,  as  a  child  needs  to  be  ^uided 
instructed,  and  restrained.  ^ 

In  the  natural  sciences  mankind  have  advanced  step 
by  step,  each  successful  laborer  being  passed  and  super- 
seded by  his  successor.     The  wonderful  and   l,rilliant 
discovery  of  one  year  is  in  flimiliar  use  in  the  next,  and 
serves  as  the  foundation  for  discoveries  perhaps  more 
wonderful  still;  and  so  the  volume  which  contains  irs 
first  announcement  rests  unread  on  the  shelves  of  old 
libraries,  and  the  knowledge  which  at  first  was  s(.  rare 
and  precious,  becomes  combined  with  the  general  mnss 
of  information  possessed  by  the  race.     But   who   h  is 
excelled  Jesus    of  JS^azareth?     What  volume  of  moral 
instruction  has  superseded  the  Gospel  ?     It  is  eio-hteen 
hundred  years  since  the  New  Testament  was  writte^,  and 
in   every  other  branch   of  knowledge  men  have  made 
wonderful  advances  ;  but  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  and 
of  their  own   duty   and   destiny,  that  book  is  still  the 
manual  of  the  civilized  world.     Is  it  asked  if  men  have 
not  gone  beyond  it  ?     They  have  not  come  up  to  it.     It 
seems  to  us  sometimes  as  if  they  had  not  learned  its  first 


It 


108 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


lessons.  Certninly  men  in  general,  in  Christian  coun- 
tries, are  yet  far  from  understanding,  applying,  and 
exemplifying  the  Sermon  on  the  ]Monnt,  the  divine  dis- 
course contained  in  its  first  few  pages.  The  New  Tes- 
tament is  not  superseded  then.  Wc  cannot  do  without 
it.  It  is  not  like  those  books  of  a  philosophy  long  since 
thoroughly  learned,  that  we  can  now  lay  aside,  forget- 
ting even  their  authors'  names,  and  retaining  only  the 
principles  they  have  taught  us. 

An  evidence  of  the  excellence  of  Christianity  may  be 
found  in  the  failure  of  all  attempts  to  improve  upon  it.  \A'e 
have  seen  already  tluit  some  have  tried  to  make  a  selec- 
tion from  its  teachings,  and  engage  the  attention  of 
mankind  to  its  moral  precepts  alone.  Others  have 
endeavored  to  go  beyond  its  instructions,  and,  as  in 
secular  science  one  author  builds  his  system  on  that  of 
his  predecessor,  to  construct  new  religions  on  the  basis 
of  the  Gospel.  This  was  very  early  sought  after  in  the 
Gnostic  and  Manichcan  systems ;  the  one  an  endeavor 
to  combine  Clu'istianity  with  principles  from  the  Greek 
philosophy,  the  other  undertaking  to  reconcile  it  with 
the  teachings  of  Zoroaster.  Those  attempted  improve- 
ments have  passed  away,  and  Christianity  remains. 

The  Mohanunedan  system,  which  we  have  already 
considered,  may  be  regarded  as  another  endeavor  to 
improve  on  the  religion  of  the  Dible.  But  Mohammed 
knew  more  of  the  Old  Dispensation  than  he  did  of  the 
New.  He  failed  entirely  to  reach  the  spiritual  elevation 
of  Christianity;  and  by  a  most  unhappy  mixture  of 
elements  in  the  two  religions,  each  of  which  was  good 
in  its  own  i)lace,  he  produced  that  result  of  narrow  bi*/- 
otry,  pride,  and  persecution,  which  we  have  already  con- 


f 


ATTEMPTS   TO   ALTER   OR   IMPROVE   CHRISTIANITY.      109 

templated.  The  Jewish  state  being  a  theocracy,  Jehovah 
being  recognized  as  its  sovereign,  idolatry  was  treason, 
and  was  punished  as  such.  But  Judaism  never  claimed, 
and  never  was  intended,  to  be  a  universal  religion.  The 
Jews  were  not  a  proselyting  people.  Christianity, 
which  is  a  universal  religion,  disowns  the  theocratic 
principle.  Its  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  and  its 
Founder  taught  no  lessons  of  intolerance.  Mohammed 
joined  together,  in  unfit  alliance,  the  theocratic  principle 
of  the  Jews,  and  the  Christian  claim  to  universal  diffu- 
sion. Hence  came  a  religion  of  aggression  and  conquest, 
of  pride  and  aversion  to  improvement,  of  intolerance 
and  persecution.  Thus  Mohanunedanism  not  only  failed 
as  an  improvement  upon  Christianity,  but  by  attempting 
to  transcend  the  local  and  limited  character  of  Judaism, 
it  stained  itself  with  a  blot  that  Judaism  never  knew. 
The  gross  impurity  of  the  system,  its  allowance  of  po- 
lygamy, its  degradation  of  woman,  need  but  to  be  men- 
tioned, to  show  how  far  it  fell  short  of  the  religion  it 
attempted  to  supersede. 

Of  the  modern  pretended  revelation  of  Mormonism, 
we  shall  speak  at  length,  in  a  separate  chapter,  the  rather 
that  its  presence  and  increase  render  it  a  subject  of  great 
importance  in  itself,  as  well  as  in  its  ai)plication  to  our 
present  argument.  Two  other  systems  there  are,  which 
may  be  deemed  continuations  or  intended  improvements 
of  the  Gospel.  One  is  that  of  the  Koman  Catholic 
church,  which,  claiming  to  be  still  infallibly  inspired, 
adds  to  the  teaching  of  the  Scriptures  those  of  the 
Fathers,  and  especially  the  decisions  of  Councils,  as  of 
equal  authority.  How  has  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
been  improved  in  the  liomish  church?     Its  doctrines, 


no 


KV11IENCK3  01-'  CimiSTIANITY. 


I    j 


on^inully  .sim|)l(%  have  been  eovered  witli  u  hmdeii  and  a 
eluond  of  mystery  ;  its  ministers,  originally  unprctend- 
in^^  men,  have  been  exalted  into  a  hierarehy  ;  its  vvorsliip 
has  been  (hirkcieil  hf  a  eh)nd  of  eeremony,  and  its  moral 
conduct  has  been  stained  by  the  impurities  of  a  IJor^na, 
the  cruelties  of  the  Inquisition,  and  the  massacre  of  »St. 
Bartholomew, 

An  attempt  of  a  diilercnt  eh.jracter  wc  may  notice 
in  the  New  .lerusaleni,  or  Swedtinboririan  (;hurch.  Tliis 
adds  to  Christianity,  as  nnderstood  by  others,  discoveries 
or  rcvehitions  of  its  own.  Swedcnborir  was  a  man  of 
singular  and  varied  genius,  with  a  mind  enriched  by 
libend  culture  in  youth,  uiid  afterwards  by  many  years 
of  scientific  reseansllf  ftllli  rf  intercourse  with  men  of 
the  highest  rank  and  intelligence.  His  advanta^res  for 
the  accpiisition  of  knowh'dge  appear  in  strong  contrast 
to  the  youth,  the  bmited  education,  and  the  obscure  pro- 
vincial sphere,  of  Jeans.  Swedenborg  claimed  for  him- 
self cspecinl  divint  IllilrilCtion.  Tiiis  claim,  however, 
w(;  have  no  present  occasion  to  examine  ;  for  we  are 
arguing,  not  against  Swedenborgians,  but  against  unbe- 
lievers. IJut  whether  he  had  or  had  not  an  extraordinary 
connnission  from  above,  we  look  in  vain  for  any  truth 
of  importanci^  which  the  seer  of  Sweden  added  to  the 
Gospel.  The  position  he  claimed  was  only  that  of  its 
reverent  inter[)reter.  That  he  shed  light  on  some  pas- 
sages of  the  Nt;w  Testament  may  well  be  conceded. 
But  the  Sermon  on  the  Blount  remains  still  unsurpassed 
for  the  beauty  and  holiness  of  its  prece[)ts ;  the  liord's 
Prayer  still  unequalled  for  sid)limity  nnd  comprehensive- 
ness of  devotional  ex[)ression.  The  learned  and  vener- 
able sage  of  Stockholm,  with  all  his  great  enilowments, 


■I 

I! 


*',!^i«««Xii* 


i 


lA 


ATTILMITS    TO    ALTKIl    OR    IMPROVE   ClIRlSTfANITY.       Ill 

did   but  illustrate,  not  supersede  or  eeli[)sc,  the  youn"* 
and  uneducated  Teacher  of  iXazarcth. 

From  tlu^  survey  we  have  taken  in  this  and  the 
preceding  chapters,  we  come  to  the  following  conclu- 
sions :  — 

That  a  revelation  of  the  I)ivin(!  nature  and  will  was 
needed  by  mankind  ;  and  that  it  was  needed  at  the  time 
when  Christianity  appeared,  notwithstanding  the  great 
advancement  then  attained  in  i)hilosophy,  science,  and 
art. 

That  the;  existence  of  this  nc^ed,  and  th(;  adaptation 
of  Christianity  to  supply  it,  are  proved  by  the  eagerness 
with  which  it  was  received,  Jind  the  rapidity  with  which 
it  was  extended,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of 
heathen  superstition  and  of  imperial  power;  while 
philosophy  in  vain  endeavored  to  rival  it,  and  some  of 
the  noblest  j)hiIosopli(;rs  had  expressed,  in  language 
almost  prophetic,  the  dee[)  want  of  luunan  nature  which 
their  own  systems  could  not  supply,  .and  their  aspiration 
for  a  clearer  liirht. 

That  (/hrlstianlty  is  not  only  a  good  and  pure  system 
of  morals,  but  that  It,  and  it  alone,  is  a  universal  reli- 
gion. The  teachers  of  Greece,  Persia,  Indiji,  and  China 
have,  in  the  local  and  temi)orary  limitations  of  their 
instructions,  the  stamj)  of  insuihcicncy,  while  the  doc- 
trine of  Christ  alone  possesses  the  marks  of  divine 
perfection,  and  therefore  of  divine  origin. 

That  this  is  attested  to  us,  among  other  witnesses,  by 
an  mterestmg  class  of  writers,  who,  while  unconvinced 
of  the  supernatural  commission  of  the  Savior,  have  yet 
turned  with  admiration  to  his  precepts,  acknowledging 


. 


I 


(. 


f. 


112 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


them  as  the  sufficient  rule  of  life,  and  the  "  iruide  to 
peace  and  happiness." 

That  Cliristianitj  was  not  only  necessary  in  the  age 
when  it  was  given,  but  is  necessary  still.  Its  Founder 
spoke,  not  like  other  teachers,  but  with  divine  authority, 
and  his  own  personal  character  constitutes,  at  once  the 
best  explanation,  and  one  of  the  most  powerful  attrac- 
tions, of  the  system  which  he  gave.  And  unlike  the 
works  of  uninspired  discoverers,  which  have  been  super- 
seded by  those  of  their  successors,  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
remains,  after  eighteen  centuries,  not  only  unsurpassed, 
but  unequalled ;  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to 
build  upon  it  a  more  advanced  religion  do  but  excite  our 
wonder,  our  indignation,  or  our  pity;  attempts  to  im- 
prove it,  as  by  the  alleged  continuance  of  inspiration  in 
the  Romish  church,  or  its  alleged  recurrence  in  the 
Swedenborgian,  have  either  signally  failed,  or  have 
succeeded  only  by  bringing  into  clearer  view  what  was 
in  Christianity  already;  while  minds  of  the  greatest 
power,  such  as  Luther's,  have  found  the  noblest  exercise 
of  that  power,  not  in  adding  anything  to  the  teachings 
of  the  Gospel,  but  in  removing  the  additions  which  had 
but  obscured  its  original  simplicity  and  beauty. 


fi 


/i 


MORMONISM. 


113 


I 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MoRMONISM. 

Between  the  long-established  possessions  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  those  which  lie  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific, 
extends  a  vast  wilderness,  where,  till  within  a  few  years, 
the  foot   of  civilized   man  has   rarely   penetrated,   and 
where,  even  yet,  travel  is  difficult,  dangerous,  and  con- 
fined to  a  few  roads,  worn  by  the  steps  of  that  multitude 
who  have  been  led  westward  by  the  attractions  of  the 
Land  of  Gold.     Far  in  that  wilderness  is  a  valley,  sin- 
gular hi  its  geographical  character,  and  peojded  by  sin- 
gular inhabitants.     Lofty  mountain  ranges  gird  it,  their 
highest   points   covered    with    perpetual    snow.     Sharp 
peaks  arise,  in  various  fantastic  forms.     As  the  traveller 
reaches  an  eminence  towered  over  by  these  lieights,  and 
itself  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  tlie  sea,  he 
sees  before  him,  beyond  the  dark  fringe  of  pines,  a  silver 
lake,  expanding  in  ocean-like  magnificence.     Suddenly, 
-—so  a  traveller  has  described  it,  —  he  sees  his  compan- 
ions fall  on  their  knees ;  the  air  resounds  with  the  min- 
gled noise  of  joyful  shouts,  and  prayer,  and  weeping; 
as  when,  in  the  East,   a  company   of  devout  jiilgrims 
greet  for  the  first  time  the  blended  minarets  and  d'omes 
of  Jerusalem.     The  scene  is   Oriental  in  many  of  its 
circumstances.     That  gleaming  lake  is  like  the  Dead 
Sea  of  old  Palestine,  of  bitter  waters,  wherein  no  livin"- 

8 


114 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITT. 


thmg  ,s  found.  Those  devotees  approach  a  city,  holy 
in  their  view  as  Jerusalem  to  the  tribes  of  Israel,  for 
there  presides  one  whom  they  reverence  as  a  prophet  of 

he  Lord.  Hut  to  one  who  is  with  then.,  but  not  of 
them  the  thought  occurs  of  another  city  which  stood  by 
the  Dead  Sea  in  old  tiu.c,  and  he  rccoj,rni2cs  in  the  city 
of  the  A  estern  Salt  Lake  not  a  new  Jerusalem,  but  a 
second  Sodom. 

Pass  on  beyond  the  dark  pine  barrier,  and  descend 
the  shelving  ranges,  -  the  successive  boundaries  from 
age  to  age  of  the  vast  inland  sea,  which  has  gra.luallv 
contracted  to  its  present  dimensions.     Pass  on,  here  by 
springs  of  salt,  there  by  fountains  of  boiling  water,  and 
enter  the  city.     It  is  of  vast  extent,  but  thinlv  peopled, 
surrounded  by  fortifications  which   might  reJist  an  at- 
tack of  predatory  Indians,   but  which,  commanded  by 
the  surrounding  emineuces,  would  be  slisrht  r.rotection 
against  a  civilized  assailant.     As  you  proceed,  the  signs 
ot  Oriental  and  of  AVestcin  life  are  strangclv  min.ded 
Here  are  stores,  and  warehouses,  and  shops,  bearin^r.  on 
t^ieir  fronts  the  familiar   names   that  meet   us  in  "our 
Aew  England  streets  ;  there  rises  the  wall  of  a  temple 
designed  apparently  to  rival  Solomon's  in  inamiificence 
but  resembling  rather  some  Euroj.ean  cathedral.     And 
there  again,   sight  of  shame  and  sign  of  ai)proachin<. 
doom,  appear  the  buil.lings  of  a  harem,  where  some 
man,  who  has  enjoyed  from  youth  the  light  of  civiliza- 
tion  and  of  the   Gospel,   keeps    his    numerous   wives. 
Over  the  portico  of  the  lordliest  mansion  frowns  a  bronze 
lion.     That,  known  as  the  Lion  House,  is  tenanted  by 
seventeen  or  eighteen  of  the  wives  of  him  who  rei-^ns  in 
this  strange  community  with  the  blended  authorky  of 


MORJIONISM. 


115 


i 


Moses  and  Solomon,  —  Brigham  Young,  "  the  Lion  of 
the  Lord." 

In  order  to  understand  tliis  singular  commonwcaltli, 
it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  go  back  some  years,  to 
trace  the  course  of  him  who  gave  the  first  impulse  which 
resulted  in  what  we  now  behold. 

eloscpli  Smith,  the  founder  of  the  Mormon  Church 
and  State,  was  born  in  Sharon,  Vermont,  December  23, 
1805.     During  his  childhood,  his  parents  removed  to 
Palmyra,  Xcw  York.     Ills  education  was  very  limited, 
his  occupation,  that  of  a  farmer.     The  account  given 
by  himself,  of  the  manner  in  which  he  received  tlie'' sys- 
tem which  he  tauglit,  is  briefly  the  following :  At  the 
age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  he  was  aflx^cted  with  religious 
feelings,  and  much  disturbed  in  mind  on  account  of  the 
diversity  among  the  sects  of  Christians.     Fearful  that, 
in  making  a  choice  among  them,  he  might  be  led  into 
error,  he  witlidrew  into  the  woods  for  tlic  purpose  of 
prayer.     Here  a  horror  of  great  darkness  fell  upon  him, 
and   he   fancied    himself  on    the   verge    of  destruction 
through  the  malice  of  some  infernal  enemy.     lie  ex- 
erted all  his  powers  to  implore  deliverance,  and  suddenly 
he  saw  a  pillar  of  liglit  above  his  head,  briohtcr  than 
the  sun,  which  gradually  descended  till  it  rested  on  him. 
He  now  saw  two  personages,  who  proved  to  be  no  other 
than  the  Eternal  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Not  to  continue  the  details  of  this  strange,  and,  to  us 
revoltmg  narrative.  Smith,  according  to  his  own  ac- 
count, was  informed  tlmt  the  American  Indians  were  a 
i-emnant  of  ancient  Israel,  but  a  degenerate  remnant,  — 
the  relics  of  a  once  mighty  branch  of  that  sacred  stock, 
which  had  filled  this  continent  with  populous  cities,  flour- 


116 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


^ 


h^ 


isliiiig  in  arts  and  arms,  until  the  greater  part  of  thcin 
were,  for  their  imwortliiness,  destroyed  ;  but  that  the 
records  of  their  former  greatness  had  been  safely  depos- 
ited in  the  earth.  lie  was  directed  to  the  spot  where 
these  treasures  were  preserved  ;  and,  after  several  visits 
there,  the  Book  of  ]Mormon,  written  on  plates  of  gold, 
in  characters  which  Smith  styled  *'  reformed  Egyptian," 
was  taken  from  its  long  repose,  and  delivered  to  the 
new  [)rophet  by  angel  hands. 

There  is  a  strange  mixture  of  the  burlesque  with  this 
bold  blasphemy.  With  the  plates  inscribed  in  this  un- 
known language  was  found  a  singular  instrument,  through 
which  alone  they  could  be  interpreted.  This  was  the 
Urim  and  Thummim,  mentioned  in  the  Holy  Writ  as 
the  means  by  which  conununications  were  made  from 
the  Divine  Guide  of  the  people  in  ancient  times.  Much 
have  commentators  and  people  been  bewildered  to  know 
in  what  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  "  lights  and  perfec- 
tions," as  the  words  mean,  consisted.  Smith  solved  the 
mystery  in  a  way  which  no  commentator  probably  had 
imagined  before.  They  were  a  pair  of  spectacles,  "two 
transparent  stones,  set  in  the  two  rims  of  a  bow."  This 
wonderful  instrument  enabled  him  who  wore  it  to  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  the  otherwise  unknown  laniruajre 
before  him. 

The  gold  plates  found  by  Smith  have  not  been  often 
seen  by  other  eyes  than  his.  Certificates,  however,  are 
produced,  from  a  few  persons,  mostly  members  of 
Smith's  own  family,  and  of  another  by  the  name  of 
Whitmer,  who  profess  to  have  seen  and  handled  them. 
The  testimony  of  Smith's  early  associates  suggests, 
however,  a  probable  conjecture  of  their  origin.     Smith, 


MORMONISM. 


117 


it  appears,  was  engaged  in  youth  with  a  set  of  men  who 
devoted  themselves  to  the  business  of  digging  for  hidden 
treasure ;  the  places  wliere  treasure  was  buried  he  pre- 
tended he  could  find  by  means  of  a  stone  placed  in  his 
hat.  It  is  possible  that,  in  some  of  his  dig"in<»'  adven- 
tures, he  may  have  lighted  on  some  relics  of  the  past, 
sufficient  to  suggest  to  his  own  mind,  and  to  pass  off 
upon  the  minds  of  others,  the  fraud  wliich  proved  so 
successful.  This  supposition  is  confirmed  by  tlie  actual 
discovery,  in  an  ancient  inound  at  Kinderhook,  New 
lork,  of  some  metal  plates  inscribed  with  unknown 
characters,  —  the  work,  it  has  been  supposed,  of  that 
former  race,  more  civilized  tlian  the  Indians,  the  traces 
of  whose  greatness  exist  in  various  parts  of  the  continent, 
but  chiefly  in  Mexico  and  Central  America. 

From  his  gold  plates  translated,  or  from  some  other 
source.  Smith  produced  a  volume  in  tlie  English  lan- 
guage—the Look  of  Mormon,  or  Mormon  Bible. 
This  work,  had  it  been  his  own  composition,  would 
have  given  him  a  claim  to  be  regarded  as  not  only  the 
most  daring  of  religious  impostors,  but  as  possessing 
powers  of  fictitious  composition,  which,  considering  his 
scanty  education,  would  border  on  the  miraculous. 
Genius  he  certainly  possessed;  but  it  did  not  make 
him  the  author  or  the  translator  of  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
That  strange  production  was  from  another  source  ;  and 
little  did  its  real  author  imagine  the  evil  use  to  which 
his  composition  would  be  applied. 

The  true  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  sufficient- 
ly established.  In  the  year  1809,  the  Rev.  Solomon 
Spalding,  a  clergyman  in  the  State  of  New  York,  who 
Lad  left  his  profession  from  feeble  health,  failed  in  that 


I 


118 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


business  to  which  he  hail  afterwards  given  his  attention. 
lie  now  removed  to  Xew  Salem,  in  Ohio,  and  sought  to 
occu[)y  himself  l)y  writing,  choosing  as  the  object  of  his 
undertaking  a  fictitious  tale  founded  on  the  Scripture 
history,  and  on  the  theory,  which  was  not  original  even 
with  him,  that  the  Indians  of  Xorth  America  were  de- 
scended from  the  Israelites  of  old.  The  idea  of  this 
tale  was  suirnesterl  to  him  by  the  numerous  mounds  and 
forts  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  new  residence,  the  relics 
of  a  former  race.  He  entitled  his  work,  "  The  Manu- 
script Found."  ^lormon  and  his  son  ^Nloroni  were  among 
his  leadinir  characters,  as  in  the  publication  which  Smith 
professed  to  have  translated  from  the  golden  plates. 
In  1812,  the  manuscrii)t  of  this  work  was  deposited 
with  a  bookseller  named  Patterson,  of  Pittsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  but  before  any  arrangement  was  made  for  its 
publication,  the  author  died,  and  the  manuscript  re- 
mained unclaimed  in  Patterson's  possession.  The  prin- 
ter lent  the  manuscript  to  Sidney  Kigdon,  a  compositor 
in  his  otHce,  and  at  the  same  time  a  preacher  in  the 
"  Christian  Connection."  Eigdon  was  much  interested 
in  the  romance,  and  repeatedly  stated  that  he  had  taken 
a  copy  of  it.  lie  afterwards  became  associated  with 
Smith,  as  one  of  the  principal  leaders  among  the  Mor- 
mons. 

In  1839,  the  widow  of  Spalding,  then  residing  in 
Monson,  Massachusetts,  stated  these  facts  in  one  of  the 
newspapers  of  Boston.  She  further  declared,  that  a 
Mormon  female  preacher,  having  a})pointcd  a  meeting 
at  Xew  Salem,  where  her  husband  had  resided,  read  and 
repeated  copious  extracts  from  their  sacred  book.  These 
extracts  were  immediately  recognized  by  some  of  those 


f 


•,11 


f! 


*\i 


MORMONISM. 


119 


present,  as  part  of  the  work  of  Mr.  Spalding,  which 
they  had  read  or  heard  in  manuscript.  Mr.  John  Spal- 
ding, the  brother  of  the  author,  was  present  at  the  meet- 
ing. Pecognizing  his  brother's  work,  and  amazed  and 
alilicted  at  its  perversion  to  the  vile  purpose  of  a  religious 
imposture,  he  rose,  and  with  tears  declared  the  true 
origin  of  the  passages  which  they  had  heard.  He  after- 
wards stated  the  same  on  oath ;  particularizing  that  his 
brother's  work  gave  an  account  of  the  journey  of  a 
portion  of  the  Israelites  from  Jerusalem  by  land  and 
sea,  until  they  arrived  in  America  under  the  connnand 
of  Xephi  and  Lehi,  and  that  it  also  mentioned  the  La- 
man  ites.  This  account  of  the  contents  of  Mr.  Spalding's 
book  identifies  it  with  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

lligdon  replied  to  the  statement  made  by  Mr.  Spal- 
ding's widow,  vehemently  denying  its  charge  against 
himself.  Little  weight  can  be  attached  to  this  denial ; 
yet  it  is  possible  that  the  manuscript  came  into  the  hands 
of  Smith  through  different  means.  In  1825,  Smith  was 
employed  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ilartwick,  X'evv  York, 
where  the  trunk  containing  Spalding's  manuscripts  was 
deposited.  It  is  stated  that  after  the  appearance  of  the 
book  of  Mormon,  and  its  recognition  by  Spalding's 
friends,  this  trunk  was  examined,  and  only  one  manu- 
script found,  being  that  of  an  earlier  attempt  to  con- 
struct a  story  of  the  Indians  deriving  their  origin  from 
a  colony  of  the  Latins.  The  other  papers  had  been 
removed,  and  the  remembered  manuscript  has  never 
been  recovered.* 

*  See  the  testimony  in  Mormonism,  its  Leaders  and  Designs  ; 
by  John  Hyde,  Jr.,  formerly  a  Mormon  Elder,  &c.  New  York, 
1857.     Chapter  XL     See  also  The  Mormons,  or  Latter  Day  Saints. 


U-'l 


t 


120 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


The  Book  of  ^Mormon,  thus  identified  as  the  work  of 
a  retired  clergyman,  is  a  romance  which  reflects  no  little 
credit  on  tlie  imagination  of  its  author.  We  condense 
it,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  following  abstract. 

In  the  first  year  of  Zcdekiah,  king  of  Judah,  when 
the  destiny  of  the  nation  was  darkening  towards  the 
calamity  of  the  captivity  in  Babylon,  a  devout  man, 
named  Lchi,  was  moved  by  the  warnings  of  Jeremiah 
and  other  prophets,  to  flee  from  Jerusalem.  He  took 
with  him  his  four  sons  and  their  wives,  and  travelled 
till  they  came  to  "the  great  ocean.  Here  Nephi,  the 
youngest  of  the  sons,  by  Divine  direction,  built  a  vessel, 
in  which  the  whole  company  embarked.  On  the  voy- 
age, the  elder  brothers  mutiny,  and  bind  Nephi ;  but  as 
he  alone  has  been  instructed  from  Heaven  how  to  man- 
age the  vessel,  they  are  obliged  to  reinstate  him  in  the 
command.  At  length  they  reach  land,  —  this  Western 
continent,  near  two  thousand  years  before  its  discovery 
by  Columbus.  After  their  arrival,  Laman  and  Lenuiel, 
the  elder  brothers,  again  revolt ;  and  this  division  be- 
tween the  members  of  the  family  becomes  perpetuated 
in  their  descendants,  under  the  names  of  Lamanites  and 
Nephites,  —  the  Nephites  being  generally  obedient  and 
virtuous,  the  Lamanites  rebellious  and  unbelieving. 
Cities  arise,  kings  reign,  and  prophets  exhort.  These 
prophets  are  represented  as  predicting  the  coming  of 
the  Savior ;  and  in  clearer  language  than  that  of  the 
prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.  At  length  the  Savior 
himself  appears  on  this  continent,  after  his  ascension, 

London,  1852;  pages  31-3G.     Utah  and  the  Mormons,  hy  Benjamin 
G.  Ferris,  late  Secretary  of  Utah  Territory.      New  York,  1854. 


MORMONISM. 


121 


as  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  His  teaching  is 
described  in  language  copied  from  the  genuine  Scriptures. 
He  ascends  to  heaven,  and  his  Gospel  is  preached  among 
the  Isephites,  and,  to  some  extent,  among  the  Laman- 
ites. But  at  length  the  Nephites  "  dwindle  in  unbelief;  '* 
the  infidels  gain  the  ascendency ;  the  true  believers  be- 
come extinct,  and  their  last  prophet,  Mormon,  consigns 
to  the  earth  the  plates  that  contain  the  record  of  the 
nation,  "to  be  brought  forth  in  due  time  by  the  bind  of 
the  Gentiles." 

We  need  not  trace  the  steps  by  which,  with  the  charm 
of  this  strange  romance,  and  of  Smith's  bold  assertion 
and  commanding  mind,  the  Mormon  church  was  or- 
ganized and  extended  ;  or  chronicle  their  successive  re- 
movals, from  New  York  to  Ohio,  and  thence  to  Missouri. 
The  rude  justice  of  our  border  settlements  too  often 
dispenses  with  the  safeguards  of  law  ;  and  the  Mormons 
were  accused  of  such  practices  that  the  feelings  of  the 
people  everywhere  were  excited  against  them.  Among 
the  charges  brought  against  them  was  that  of  anti- 
slavery  ;  but  if  this  was  true  at  the  time,  they  soon  be- 
came as  faithful  believers  in  the  "patriarchal  institution  " 
as  any  of  its  advocates  could  desire ;  maintainin<2:  that 
the  African  race  was  twice  doomed,  bearinir  the  mark 
of  Cain  united  with  the  curse  of  Ham,  through  the 
marriage  of  the  latter  with  a  descendant  of  the  first 
murderer. 

Another  charge  was  that  of  a  community  of  wives. 
This  they  declared  to  be  a  calumny,  but  the  later  con- 
duct of  the  sect  gives  reason  to  believe  that  there  was, 
even  then,  some  foundation  for  it.  Probably  the  im- 
prudent  language  of  some  among  them,   who  talked 


122 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


MORMON  ISM. 


123 


of  their  determination  to  possess  the  whole  State  of 
Missouri,  and  suffer  none  to  live  near  them  who  were 
not  of  their  church,  created  more  hostility  than  any 
immoralities.  However  this  may  have  beeri,  the  popular 
rage  was  aroused.  The  tale  of  their  exi)uLsion  from 
Missouri  fills  one  of  the  saddest  pages  in  the  strange, 
sad  history  of  that  State.  The  Mormons  say,  in  a  docu- 
ment published  soon  after,  "i\Ien  were  shot  down  like 
wild  beasts,  or  had  their  brains  dashed  ;  women  were 
treated  with  insult,  until  thev  died  in  the  hands  of  their 
destroyers  ;  children  were  killed  while  pleading  for  their 
lives.  All  entreaties  were  vain  and  fruitless ;  men, 
women,  and  children  alike  fell  victims  to  the  violence 
and  cruelty  of  these  ruffians." 

Fnun  ^Missouri,  the  ^lormons  took  refuge  in  Illinois. 
Here  they  built  a  town,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of 
Nauvoo,  from  the  Hebrew  waya//,  or.  The  Beautiful ; 
established  a  flourishing  community,  and  built  a  costly 
temple.  But  their  evil  reputation  followed  them.  As- 
sertions were  made  and  believed,  that  the  prophet  and 
his  chief  confederates  were  guilty  of  gross  impurities, 
deluding  their  victims  by  pretended  revelations.  An 
opposition  newspaper  was  commenced  in  Nauvoo  itself, 
and  its  first  number  contained  the  affidavits  of  sixteen 
women,  charging  such  crimes  on  Smith,  Bigdon,  and 
others.  The  pro[)het,  acting  as  ^layor  of  the  city,  de- 
stroyed the  office  and  presses  of  the  newspaper,  and  burnt 
the  papers  and  furniture.  This  high-handed  act  aroused 
the  State.  Smith  refused  to  obey  a  warrant  for  his 
arrest.  Illinois  was  in  arms,  and  the  Governor  took 
the  field  in  person.  At  his  appeal  to  them,  pledging 
the  honor  of  the  State  for  their  protection,  Joseph  and 


. 


his  brother  Hiram  Smith  surrendered  themselves,  the 
former  savinir,  "  I  am  ooinnr  like  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter, 
but  I  am  calm  as  a  sunnner's  morning.  I  have  a  con- 
science void  of  offence,  and  shall  die  innocent."  His 
anticipations  were  verified.  On  the  2r)th  of  June,  1844, 
the  same  d;iy  on  which  they  had  received  a  visit  from 
the  Governor,  with  renewed  promises  of  protection,  a 
band  of  nearly  two  hundred  men,  with  blackened  faces, 
overpowered  the  small  guard  at  the  jail,  and  murdered 
the  prisoners.  The  assailants  completed  their  own  dis- 
honor by  brutally  insulting  the  body  of  their  victim. 

Thus  died  Joseph  Smith,  tlic  Mohammed  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  if  the  application  of  that  name  to  him 
is  not  a  wrong  to  the  iVrabian  prophet.  For  the  faith 
of  Mohammed  was  at  least,  as  we  have  already  seen,  a 
Cjreat  advance  upon  the  previous  idolatry  of  his  coun- 
trymen ;  while  the  doctrine  of  the  Western  deceiver 
rejects  what  is  highest  and  purest  in  the  prevalent  reli- 
gion, and  degrades  its  followers  to  a  grovelling  mate- 
rialism, and  a  worse  than  Asiatic  sensuality.  We  had 
once  the  privilege  of  hearing  Smith  address  an  audience 
at  Washington.  He  held  their  attention  through  a  long 
discourse,  defending  his  tenets,  and  complaining  of  the 
oppressions  suffered  by  his  people  in  Missouri.  He 
was  a  man  of  powerful  frame,  a  commanding  voice,  and 
a  ready  flow  of  language.  He  said  little  of  his  own 
claims  as  a  prophet,  except  to  deny  the  charge  of  having 
derived  the.  Book  of  ^lormon  from  Spalding's  manu- 
script ;  but  labored  chiefly  to  conciliate  favor  to  his  sect, 
as  a  harmless  and  industrious  people,  whose  religion 
differed  little  from  that  of  other  Christians,  and  who  had 
been  subjected  to  gross  and  cruel  persecution. 


124 


EVIDENCES  OF    CHRISTIANITY. 


s  I- 


Dismayed  by  the  fall  of  their  leader,  and  the  excite- 
ment in  the  public  mind  against  themselves,  the  Mor- 
mons were  not  witiiout  internal  difficulty  from  the 
question  of  succession  to  the  chieftainship  of  their  sect. 
But  all  competitors  at  length  gave  way  to  Brigham 
Young,  a  man  possessing  much  of  the  courage  and 
ability  of  Smith.  This  leader  saw  the  necessity  of 
yielding  to  the  storm  which  had  been  aroused  against 
them  in  Illinois,  and  determined  on  a  retreat  to  the 
reirions  of  the  remoter  West.  It  is  not  within  the  lim- 
its  of  our  purpose  to  follow  their  history  further,  nor  to 
conjecture  how  the  important  questions  will  be  settled 
that  must  arise,  as  the  advancing  tide  of  regular  emi- 
gration breaks  against  the  rocky  barriers  of  Utah. 
Only  let  the  hope  and  purpose  be  cherislicd  by  all  who 
love  the  honor  of  the  American  and  of  the  Christian  name, 
that  there  shall  be  no  repetition  of  such  scenes  as  accom- 
panied the  exile  of  the  Mormons  from  Missouri  and 
Blinois. 

Having  thus  briefly  sketched  the  rise  of  this  singular 
denomination,  we  have  now  to  remark  upon  its  doc- 
trines and  j)ractices.  We  have  brought  it  as  an  argu- 
ment for  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity,  that  all 
attempts  to  improve  upon  it,  during  the  eighteen  cen- 
turies of  its  existence,  have  been  failures.  Christianity 
has  not  been  superseded  ;  it  has  not  been  improved. 
If  we  wish  to  find  it  in  its  best  form,  we  must  take  it, 
not  with  the  additions  that  centuries  of  learned  labor 
have  made  to  it,  but  as  it  was  preached  in  the  streets 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  villages  of  Galilee.  And  we 
have   now   brought  forward,   for  comparison    with    its 


MORMONISM. 


125 


., 


original  beauty,  the  latest  attempt  of  human  boldness 
to  "develop  from  it  a  superior  system.  What  do  we 
find  that  system  to  be? 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  us  in  it  is,  that,  insensible 
to  the  spiritual  beauty  of  the  Gospel,  it  ignores  it  and 
goes  back  to  the  Jewish  Law.     The  Book  of  Mormon, 
we  have  seen,  is  founded  on  the  Old  Testament.     It^ 
records   the   imagined    history  of  Hebrew    kings    and 
prophets,  who  continued  to  a  Hebrew  race  on  this  con- 
tinent the  same  institutions  which  David  and   Solomon, 
Elijah  and  Isaiah,   administered  in  Jincient  Palestine. 
True,  the  book  makes  mention  of  the  coming  of  the 
Savior,  both  as  having  been  foretold,  and  as  actually 
occurring;  but  the  admission  of  this   great  fact   as   a 
theological  truth  does  not  materially  alter  the  Jewish 
aspect^of  the  system.     To  one  at  all  acquainted  with 
modern  Jewish  literature,  the  resemblance  to  it  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon  is  obvious.     There  is  the  strongest 
similarity   between  the   modes   of  thought  of  the  real 
descendants  of  Abraham,  and  those  of  the  class  who 
claim  so  strangely,  considering  some  of  their  practices, 
the  name  of  "  Latter  Day  Saints." 

We  are  far,  indeed,  from  charging  on  the  modern 
Jews,  who  faithfully  adhere  to  the  religion  of  their 
ancestors,  those  gross  corruptions,  which,  developing 
continually,  have  made  the  Mormon  faith  synonymous 
with  impiety  and  impurity.  Yet  the  resemblance  of 
the  Jewish  und  ]Mornion  explanations  of  Scrii)ture  is 
extremely  striking.  Those  prophecies  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament which  Christians  apply  in  a  spiritual  manner  to 
the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  hearts 
of  men,  the  Jews  interpret  literally,  to  the  building  up 


126 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


MORMONISM. 


127 


m 


of  a  real,  substantial  kingdom,  a  Jerusalem  of  actual 
wood  and  stone.  The  Mormons  interpret  the  passages 
in  the  same  way,  only  with  this  difference,  that  their 
Zion  is  to  be  in  tliis  Western  world,  while  the  real  Jews 
expect  their  royal  city  to  be  rebuilt  in  its  pristine  glory 
on  the  same  spot  where  David  reigned  and  Solomon 
consecrated  the  Temple.  Such  is  the  spirit  of  the 
Mormon  system.  It  sees  in  the  glorious  promises  of 
the  Bible  assurances  of  earthly  grandeur ;  it  narrows 
down  every  noble  figure  of  tlie  old  inspiration  to  a  mere 
literal  rendering. 

"  We  believe,''  says  one  of  their  forms  of  confession, 
"in  the  literal  gathering  of  Israel,  and  in  the  restora- 
tion of  the  ten  tribes,  that  Zion  will  be  established  on 
the  Western  continent,  that  Christ  will  reign  personally 
on  the  earth  a  thousand  years,  and  that  the  earth  will 
be  renewed,  and  receive  its  paradisiacal  glory." 

"  O,  ye  saints  !  "  exclaims  Orson  Pratt,  one  of  their 
leaders,  in  a  sermon,  *'  O,  ye  saints,  when  you  sleep  in 
the  grave,  don't  be  afraid  that  your  agricultural  pur- 
suits are  forever  at  an  end  ;  don't  be  fearful  that  you 
will  never  more  get  any  landed  property ;  but  if  you 
are  saints,  be  of  good  cheer,  for  when  you  come  up  in 
the  morning  of  the  resurrection,  behold  there  is  a  new 
earth." 

The  Mormon  faith  teaches  that  the  Almighty  Being 
exists  in  human  form,  interpreting  literally  every  passage 
of  the  Bible  which  ascribes  to  him  human  members  or 
human  passions.  And  tliis  error,  which  might  seem  in 
itself  comparatively  harmless,  is  unhesitatingly  carried 
out  to  results  with  which  we  will  not  defile  our  pages. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  in  Mormonism,  the  eternity,  spir- 


i 


ituality  and  unchangeableness  of  God  are  forgotten. 
He  is  represented  as  a  Being  who  began  to  have  exist- 
ence, and  will  have  an  end ;  the  representations  of  him 
fulfilling  the  words  of  Scripture,  "Thou  thoughtest 
that  I  was  altogether  such  an  one  as  thyself." 

The  allowance  of  polygamy,  the  most  obviously 
offensive  peculiarity  of  Mormonism,  was  not  generally 
proclaimed  until  after  the  death  of  its  founder.  But 
Smith  cannot  be  acquitted  of  sanctioning  this  evil  cus- 
tom. An  indignant  protest  was  made  against  the 
charge  of  such  immorality;  but  that  very  protest, 
coupled  with  the  subsequent  open  avowal  of  the  prac- 
tice, shows  that  it  was  a  legitimate  and  not  remote 
consequence  of  the  earlier  acknowledged  principles  of 
the  sect.  Years  ago,  INIartha  Brotherton  testified  that 
Smith  had  endeavored  to  induce  her  to  marry  Brigham 
Young,  he  having  one  wife  then  living ;  —  that  he  jus- 
tified the  proposal,  and  told  her  that  he  would  take  the 
responsibility  in  the  sight  of  Heaven.  And  the  testi- 
mony is  not  improbable,  for  polygamy  is  a  natural 
inference  from  other  jNlormon  doctrines.  Setting  the 
Old  Testament  above  the  New,  and  their  own  false 
Testament  above  both,  the  allowance  of  this  "patri- 
archal institution  "  follows  of  course.  Thus  the  enor- 
mity which  is  now  publicly  practised  in  Utah  was  com- 
mitted in  secret  years  before,  when  prudence  dictated 
its  concealment. 

Renan,  in  his  work  on  "The  Apostles,"  remarks  of 
iSIormonism,  "  Five  hundred  years  hence,  learned  pro- 
fessors will  seek  to  prove  its  divine  origin  by  the  mir- 
acle  of    its    establishment."  *       Before,    however,    the 

,*  Page  299  of  the  translation. 


128 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


growth  of  the  Mormon  delusion  can  fairly  be  brought 
into  comparison  with  that  of  Christianity,  a  longer  time 
must  elapse,  and  more  important  conquests  be  made, 
than  have  yet  been  accomplished  by  it.     The  great  dif- 
ference, too,  must  be  kept  in  view,  that  while  the  Gos- 
pel inculcated  a  system  of  strict  self-restraint,  the  im- 
postor of  the  West  connected   his   religious   doctrines 
with  the  interests  and  the  pleasures  of  tlie  present  life. 
The  advantages  of  a  land  speculation,  and  the  more  than 
Oriental  indulgence  of  animal  passion,  were  combined 
with  tenets  in  which  something  that  is  called  religion  is 
brought  down  to  the  understanding  of  the  ignorant  and 
the  taste  of  the  depraved.     While,  then,  Christianity  is 
not  superseded,  nor  even  improved  upon  by  Mormonism, 
the  success  of  that  system,  should  it  be  more  fully  at- 
tained than   it  is  at  present,  will   fail  to  establish   its 
truth.     The  nineteenth  century  has  not,  in  the  religious 
system  to  which  it  has  given   birth  on  this  continent, 
outdone  the  revelation  of  the  first. 


BABISM. 


129 


CHAPTER  YIII. 
Babism. 

Still  more  recently  than  the  appearance  of  the  Mor- 
mon sect  in  the  United  States,  a  form  of  religious  belief 
has  arisen  in  the  opposite  quarter  of  the  globe,  remark- 
able alike  from  the  character  of  its  founder,  its  sudden 
success,  and  its  tragic  extinction,  if  indeed  it  can  yet  be 
considered  as  extinguished.  To  this  delusion,  reference 
has  already  been  made,  in  connection  with  Kenan's  com- 
parison of  the  constancy  of  its  martyrs  with  those  of 
Christianity.*  In  the  inquiry  which  we  are  now  pur- 
suing, —  whether  Christianity  has  been  excelled  by  any 
subsequent  system, — an  examination  of  Babism  naturally 
finds  place. 

Seid  x\li  Mohammed,  or  Mirza  Ali  Mohammed,  as  he 
was  afterwards  called,  was  born  in  Persia,  about  the 
year  1812.  The  names  given  him  combined  those  of 
the  prophet  and  his  son-in-law,  Ali,  whose  memory  is 
venerated  in  Persia  beyond  that  of  any  but  the  prophet 
himself;  while  the  titles  Seid  and  Mirza  marked  him  as 
one  of  the  numerous  descendants  of  Mohammed.  He 
was,  however,  born  in  a  private  and  comparatively 
humble  station,  and  his  early  education  co'rinrisfd  only 
the  most  common  branches  of  knowledge.    Employed 


♦  The  Apostles,  pages  299,  300. 

9 


130 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


BABISM. 


131 


'Sl- 


at first  in  mercantile  pursuits,  he  forsook  them  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three,  and  betook  himself  to  Kcrhehi, 
rejrarded  as  a  sacred  citv,  from  its  containinii^  the  tomb 
of  the  sainted  Iloussein.  Here  he  remained  for  five 
years,  in  the  practice  of  fasting,  prayer,  and  meditation, 
and  receiviuiT  instruction  in  a  svstem  of  Mohammedan 
mysticism,  —  that  of  the  Sheikhites. 

To  understand  this  system,  one  must  go  back  to  the 
form  of  the  Mohanunedan  religion  established  in  Persia. 
The  Persians  are  of  the  Sheah  sect,  distinguished  for  the 
reverence  in  which  they  hold  the  memory  of  Ali,  the 
son-in-law,  and  one  of  the  successors  of  ^lohammed. 
With  this  prince,  certain  others  are  associated  in  pop- 
ular reverence,  ending  with  ]Mehdi  or  ]\Iahdi,  the 
"  twelfth  Imam,"  who  is  expected  to  return  to  life  and 
assume  the  em[)ire  yf  the  world.*  The  reverence  paid 
to  these  personages  resembles  that  rendered  by  Roman 
Catholics  to  the  saints. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  a  teacher 
named  Sheikh  Ahmed  founded  the  school  of  mysticism 
to  which  we  have  referred.  lie  taught  that  the  uni- 
verse emanated  from  the  Supreme  Being,  and  that  all 
the  good  were  embodiments  of  his  all-pervading  spirit. 
EsjKJcially  the  twelve  Imams,  the  objects  of  popular 
reverence,  were,  according  to  him,  personifications  of 
the  divine  attributes,  Ali  standing  at  the  head  of  all. 
In  this  system  an  inclination  towards  Pantheism  seems 


♦  A  similar  superstition  among  tlie  Druses,  with  regard  to  the 
Caliph  Hakoni,  forms  the  suhject  of  Browning's  "  Return  of  the 
Druses."  The  delusion  which  the  poet  was  depicting  from  imagina- 
tion, was  at  the  same  time  acted  out  in  a  more  distant  land,  in  larger 
proportions  and  with  a  luore  tragic  termination. 


to  have  been  combined,  not  only  with  a  corrupted  M6- 
hammedanism,  but  with  the  ancient  Persian  tendency 
to  believe  in  emanations  and  incarnations.  It  may, 
however,  be  more  favorably  regarded,  as  an  attempt 
to  give  a  more  spiritual  meaning  to  the  po])ular  super- 
stition. 

The  seat  of  Sheikh  Ahmed's  school  was  at  Kerbela ; 
and  there  his  successor.  Sheikh  Kazem,  taught,  when 
the  young  Ali  Mohammed  became  his  pupil.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  Shcikhites,  with  which,  probably,  even 
thus  early,  some  views  of  political  regeneration  were 
connected,  had  become  so  popular  that  in  the  province 
of  Irak  alone  it  numbered  a  hundred  thousand  adherents. 
The  Sheikh  appointed  naibs,  or  representatives  of  him- 
self, for  the  various  provinces,  and  thus  there  existed 
throughout  the  kingdom  a  formidable  force,  bound  to- 
gether by  religious  and  political  association. 

Ali  Mohammed  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  his 
fellow-disciples  and  of  the  Sheikh  himself,  by  his  piiie 
character,  his  austerities  and  devotions,  even  by  his 
reserve  in  speech,  in  connection  with  the  wisdom  he 
displayed  when  he  saw  fit  to  break  silence.  Siicikh 
Kazem  would  never  clearly  designate  who  should  be  his 
successor.  He  would  say,  "  He  is  in  the  midst  of  you,'' 
"  You  will  seek  for  him  and  find  him  ;  "  and  once,  Vvhen 
Ali  Mohammed  entered  the  hall,  and  took  his  accustomed 
place  near  the  door,  the  master  suddenly  exclaimed, 
"  There  he  is  ! "  The  words  were  little  thought  of  at 
the  time,  but  were  recalled  to  memory,  when,  after 
Sheikh  Kazem's  death,  the  majority  of  his  disciples  fixed 
on  Ali  Mohammed  as  their  chief.  He  received,  either 
from  an  expression  of  his  own,  or  from  that  of  one  of 


If    ' 


M- 


132 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


BABISM. 


133 


Kis  principal  adherents,  the  name  of  the  Gate  of  Truth. 
The  word  Bab,  meaning  Gate,  thus  became  his  title, 
and  furnished  a  new  designation  for  his  political  and 
religious  partisans. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Bab  appear  to  have  been  an  ad- 
vance on  those  of  his  predecessor.  He  taught  that  the 
Supreme  Being  comprised  in  himself  all  infinite  attri- 
butes ;  that  the  law  of  God  was  to  be  obeyed  in  the 
spirit  rather  than  in  the  letter ;  that  nothing  which  God 
had  made  was  in  itself  impure ;  and  that  woman  is  not 
the  slave  of  man,  but  his  equal.  The  first  of  these  doc- 
trines appears  to  dethrone  the  heavenly  family  of  the 
twelve  Imams ;  the  second  went  against  tiie  lifeless 
formalities  into  which  a  religion  is  apt  to  degenerate ; 
the  third  was  practically  applied  against  the  Moham- 
medan prohibition  of  wine,  while  the  fourth  op[)oscd 
the  custom  of  divorce  at  the  pleasure  of  the  husband, 
and  the  whole  Oriental  system  of  the  seclusion  and  deg- 
radation of  woman.  To  these  tenets,  another  was  added, 
more  dwelt  on  in  the  new  Koran  than  aught  else,  — 
that  in  Ali  Mohanuned  the  twelfth  Imam  had  returned 
to  life,  and  that  he  and  his  followers  were  to  rule  the 
world. 

Instead,  however,  of  seeking  or  priding  himself  on 
these  honors,  Ali  Mohammed  seems  to  have  conducted 
himself  with  modesty  and  with  prudence.  He  was 
repeatedly  arrested,  and  subjected  to  examination,  once 
before  an  assembly  of  dignitaries,  gathered  round  the 
heir-apparent  of  Persia,  a  youth  of  seventeen,  and 
nominally  governor  of  the  province.  Before  this  court 
it  is  said  that  he  appeared  witli  great  dignity,  making 
no  answer  to  some  questions,  but  declaring  himself  to 


be  the  expected  Imam.  This  account,  which  bears  marks 
of  bein<''  copied  from  the  examination  of  Jesus  before 
the  Jewish  high  priest,  is  the  less  credible,  as  such  a 
claim  would  have  led  to  his  immediate  condemnation  to 
death.  As  it  was,  the  Persian  government  acted  towards 
him  at  this  time  with  a  lenity  hardly  to  be  expected  in  a 
Mohammedan  despotism.  For  a  time  he  was  at  large 
under  surveillance,  and,  when  in  confinement,  was 
mostly  allowed  to  receive  the  numerous  visitors  who 
souo-ht  him.  Political  events,  however,  and  the  rash 
and  criminal  action  of  his  followers,  brought  his  singu- 
lar career  to  a  bloody  close. 

Among  the  proselytes  of  his  religion  was  a  lady  of 
noble  birth,  called  Kourret-oul-Ain  —  Light  of  the 
Eyes.  To  the  great  displeasure  of  her  relatives,  she 
threw  aside  the  veil,  worn  by  all  women  of  respectability 
in  the  East,  and  went  around  the  city  of  Kasvin  where 
she  dwelt,  organizing  a  branch  of  the  followers  of  the 
Bab.  At  length  one  of  her  relatives,  a  Moudjtehid  or 
reli^nous  oflBcer  of  the  city,  having  tried  all  means  to 
win  her  back,  pronounced  a  solemn  anathema  aganist 
the  Bab  and  his  doctrine.  Soon  after,  as  he  was  going 
to  the  mosque  in  the  early  morning,  three  of  the  Babists 
rushed  upon  him  and  put  him  to  death.  The  murderers 
were  seized  and  executed,  and  Kourret-oul-Ain  obliged 
to  leave  the  city.  Many  of  her  fellow-believers  accom- 
panied her.  At  the  same  time  disturbances  had  com- 
menced elsewhere. 

At  this  critical  time  the  Shah  of  Persia  died  (Sep- 
tember 5,  1848).  Such  an  occurrence  in  a  despotism 
is  often  the  signal  for  anarchy,  and  such  was  now  the 
case.     The  prime  minister,  aware  of  his  own  unpopu- 


:it  I 


134 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


larity,  fled  to  Kcrbela,  where  the  tomb  of  the  Imam 
Ilussehi  afforded  an  inviuhible  sanctuary.  The  heir- 
apparent  was  but  a  youth,  and  a  new  ministry  had  to  be 
formed.  Among  other  disturbances  of  the  public  peace, 
the  Babists  burst  into  insurrection.  Kourret-oul-Ain, 
the  heroine  of  Kasvin,  entered  with  her  adherents  the 
city  of  Miami,  and  proclaimed  the  doctrine  of  the  Bab. 
She  was  joined  by  some  of  the  inhabitants,  but  the 
greater  jjart  rose  against  her,  and  compelled  the  insur- 
gents to  leave  the  city. 

A  more  important  outbreak  took  place  in  the  province 
of  Mazanderan,  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Caspian 
Sea.  Its  leaders  were  Hadji  Mohammed  Ali,  and 
Moulla  Iloussein.  The  latter,  a  brave  man,  whose  views 
were  chiefly  political,  had  been  influential  in  securing 
the  spiritual  chieftaincy  to  the  Bab,  having  been  first 
desi^rnated  for  it  himself;  and  he  now  conceded  the 
superiority  in  religious  matters  to  his  colleague,  bending 
the  knee  before  him,  and  saluting  him  as  "most  high 
lord."  They  fortified  themselves  at  a  place  known  as 
the  tomb  of  Sheikh  Tabersi.  Here  they  repulsed,  with 
courao-e  and  skill  alike  remarkable,  successive  attacks 
made  upon  them  by  the  Persian  forces. 

Meantime,  the  government  of  the  young  Shah  had  been 
organized,  and  turned  its  attention  to  the  suppression  of 
the  Babist  rebellion.  Prince  Mehdi  Kouli  Mirza,  Gov- 
ernor of  Mazanderan,  and  a  near  relative  of  the  sove- 
reign, with  two  other  princes,  laid  siege  to  Sheikh  Taber- 
si, but  was  driven  into  disgraceful  flight  by  a  sudden  sally 
of  the  besieged.  His  camp  was  set  on  fire,  and  the 
two  princes  who  accompanied  him  lost  their  lives.  The 
government  had,  however,  the  acknowledged  head  of 


BABISM. 


135 


the  rebellion,  the  Bab,  in  its  hands ;   and,  with   little 
wisdom,  instead  of  using  his  influence,  or  at  least  con- 
tinuing to  hold  him  as  a  hostage,  they  resolved  to  put 
him  to  death.     Four  of  his  princi[)al  adherents  had  the 
same  fate  ai)i)()inted  them,  unless  they  would  deny  their 
master,  denounce  him  as  a  hypocrite  and  impostor,  and 
spit  in  his  fiice.     Three  of  them  yielded  to  these  dis- 
honorable terms  ;  among  them  was  Seid  Houssein,  who 
had  been,  according  to  his  own  declaration,  the  aman- 
uensis of  the  Bab  in  writing  his  new  Koran,  but  who 
is  thought  by  the  author  from   whom  this  account  is 
derived,  to    have    composed    it   himself.*     The   fourth 
showed    a   nobler    spirit.     When    the    miserable    Seid 
Iloussein  had  cursed  his  master  and  oifered  him  the  un- 
manly insult,  Agha  Mohannned  Ali  kissed  his  hands 
with  the  most  profound  respect,  and  cried  aloud  to  the 
people  with  solemn  voice,  "  This  is  the  Gate  of  the  Truth, 
the  Imam  of  Islam." 

The  execution,  according  to  the  authority  just  referred 
to,  was  by  shooting  ;  and  for  this  purpose  a  Christian 
regiment  was  employed,  lest  the  religious  feelings  of 
Mohammedan  soldiers  should  interfere  with  the  work 
assigned  them.  Agha  Mohammed  Ali,  "with  a  loud 
and  calm  voice,  repeated  fragments  of  prayers  composed 
by  his  master.  The  Bab  kept  silence.  His  pale  and 
handsome  face,  with  black  beard  and  small  mustaches, 
his  distinguished  figure  and  bearing,  his  white  and  deli- 
cate hands,   his  clothing  simple  but  exquisitely  neat, 

*  Bab  ct  Ics  Babis,  ou  le  Soulovemcnt  Politique  et  Religieux  en 
Perse,  de  1845  a  1853.  Par  Mirza  Kazem-Beg.  Journal  Asiatique, 
6th  series,  volumes  vii.  and  viii.  The  author  is  Professor  and  Privy 
Councillor  at  St.  Petersburg.     See  vol.  vii.,  p.  61. 


136 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


BABISM. 


137 


m 


everything-  finally  in  his  person  awoke  sympathy  and 
compassio'n."     The  Governor  and  others  addressed  the 
crowd,   speaking  of  the   blood  that  had  been  shed  in 
various  parts  of  Persia,  through  the  persevering  hostihty 
of  the  Babists,  especially  of  the  murder  of  the  holy  man 
at  Kazvin,  and  the  enemy  still  fortified  in  ^Mazanderan. 
The  first  fire  of  the  soldiers,  instead  of  even  wounding 
the  Bab,  cut  the  cords  by  which  he  was  bound.     The 
prisoner  rushed  towards  the  people,  and  would  probably 
have  been  rescued  under  the  general  impression  of  a 
miracle,  had  the  executioners  been  Mohammedans.     But 
the  Christian  soldiers  ran  forward,  and  showing  to  the 
crowd  the  cord  which  had  been   broken,   bound  their 
prisoner  anew.     Agha  Mohammed  Ali  was  first  put  to 
death  ;  afterwards,  the  master  whom  he  had  so  faithfully 
and  bravely  owned.     "  The  crowd  dispersed  in  silence, 
but  many  bore  in  their  hearts  germs  of  hostility  against 
the  government."     This  scene  took  place  July  19,  1849. 
At  Sheikh  Tabersi,  MouUa  Houssein  fell  in  battle. 
After  many  strange  experiences,  and  terrible  suffering, 
Hadji  Mohammed  Ali  made  proposals  for  peace.     Prince 
Mehdi  Kouli  Mirza,  the  same  who  had  once  so  inglori- 
ously  fled,   promised  liberal  terms,   and  sent  a  horse, 
splendidly  caparisoned,   for   the   use  of   the  insurgent 
leader  ;  but  when  the  latter,  with  his  attendants,  entered 
the  camp,  they  were  attacked  and  overpowered,  many 
slaughtered  on  the  spot,  and  others  more  deliberately 
tortured    to    death.     Hadji   Mohammed   Ali,    and   five 
others,   were   publicly    executed   at   the  capital  of  the 
province.     Another   leader,   Moulla   Mohammed    AH, 
who  was  defending  Zengau,  was  owned  as  successor  of 
the  Bab. 


(fc^ 


Meantime  the  war  continued  in  other  parts  of  Persia, 
but  we  cannot  enter  into  its  details ;  the  government 
made  efforts  at  conciliation,  but  the  treachery  and  cruelty 
displayed  in  Mazanderan  had  destroyed  all  fiiith  in  their 
offers ;  the  strife  was  desperate,  and  when  the  few  sur- 
vivors of  the  siege  of  Zengan  were  brought  to  the  capi- 
tal, it  was  said  that  each  of  them  had  cost  the  kingdom 
fifteen  hundred  lives. 

Persecution  raged  for  a  time,  and  then  subsided ;  a 
year  and  a  half  of  peace  succeeded,  but  it  was  interrupt- 
ed by  a  new  crime.  As  the  Shah  was  going  forth  to 
hunt,  he  was  fired  upon  by  several  Babists,  and  wounded, 
thou""h  not  dauGferously ;  this  treasonable  act  aroused 
a^^ain  the  vengeance  of  the  government.  The  Babists 
were  sought  out,  not  only  in  the  capital,  but  throughout 
the  kingdom,  and  put  to  death,  enduring  torture  with 
heroic  constancy.  Kourret-oul-Ain,  the  heroine  of 
Kasvin,  was  privately  executed.  These  appalling  scenes 
took  place  in  the  autumn  of  1852. 

In  various  respects,  the  history  of  Mirza  Ali  Moham- 
med, surnamed  the  Bab,  presents  startling  resemblances 
to  that  of  the  Savior.  Claiming  descent  from  an  ancient 
prophet  king,  he  was  yet,  like  Jesus,  born  in  a  lowly 
station ;  still  he  was  regarded  by  his  followers  as  the 
sovereif^n  of  his  nation  and  of  mankind,  whose  advent 
had  been  long  foretold  and  ardently  expected.  After 
leading  a  life  of  purity,  and  uttering  words  of  wisdom, 
he  was  put  to  death,  through  the  hostility  of  his  own 
government,  but  by  the  hands  of  foreign  soldiers ;  and, 
before  his  execution,  he  was  denied  by  some  of  his  most 
prominent  followers ;  nay,  the  very  form  of  contumely 
with  which  they  were  compelled  to  treat  him,  was  the 


138 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


same  vvliich  had  been  used  towards  the  Savior  in  the  hall 
of  the  high  priest. 

It  is  hi*'h  honor  for  a  teacher  of  wisdom  thus  to  bear 
in  his  own  history  a  resembhince  to  that  of  the  Redeem- 
er ;  and  we  would  fain  beUeve  that  Mirza  Ali  jNloham- 
med  was  worthy  of  the  distinction.     But  we  cannot  for- 
o-et  that  the  claim  was  made  for  him,  that  he  was  "the 
Gate  of  Truth,   the  Imam  of  Islam,"  the  subject  of 
ancient  prophecy,  the  worker  of  present  miracles,  and 
the  destined  possessor  of  universal  empire.     How  far 
he  himself  advanced  these  claims,  it  is  impossible  to 
decide,  since  the  accounts  differ  widely  ;  but  his  acqui- 
escence in  them   is  implied  in  his  whole   history.     A 
public  denial  of  his  supposed  supernatural  commission 
would  not  only  have  conciliated  the  government  and 
saved  his  own  life,  but,  by  weakening  the  rebellion, 
would  have  saved  the  lives  of  thousands  more.     His 
silence  proved  that  he  accepted  the  honors  rendered  him  ; 
his  martyrdom  proves  that  he  believed  them  to  be  his 
due.     That  in  this  belief  he  was  deluded,  needs  no  other 
evidence  than  his  own  death  and  the  extermination  of 

his  party. 

He  was,  then,  we  judge,  not  consciously  an  impostor, 
but  a  sincere  and  amiable,  yet  deluded  believer  in  his 
own  divine  commission.  Perhaps  there  was  truth  in 
the  account  given  by  some,  that  as  he  spent  much  time 
in  prayer  on  the  roof  of  his  house,  exposed  to  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  and  the  burning  wind  of  that  climate,  a  dis- 
ease of  the  brain  had  part  in  his  self-deception.*  He 
appears,  too,  rather  as  the  nominal  and  imaginary,  than 


♦  Journal  Asiatique,  vol.  vii.,  page  337. 


BABISM. 


139 


as  the  real  head  of  his  party.  Its  governing  spirit  seems 
rather  to  have  been  Moulla  Iloussein  Bouchroui,  the 
gallant  defender  of  Sheikh  Tabersi ;  a  warrior  and  poli- 
tician, who  probably  believed  more  in  his  own  good 
sword  than  in  any  prophet.  He  nominated  Ali  Mo- 
hammed to  the  spiritual  chieftainship,  reserving  to  him- 
self only  the  title  of  his  naib  or  vicar,  and  acting  with 
the  utmost  energy  to  extend  the  sect.  Seid  Houssem, 
too,  who  saved  his  life  by  abjuring  and  insulting  his 
master,  is  supposed  by  the  authority  before  us  to  have 
been  the  real  author  of  his  Koran.  It  is  possible  that 
thus  the  quiet  and  dreamy  enthusiast  was  but  a  tool  in 
the  hands  of  men  of  more  practical  ability,  but  less 
purity  of  character,  than  himself. 

Even  in  acknowledging  that  purity  of  character,  we 
must  remember  that  Ali  Mohammed  was,  through  nearly 
his  whole  life  after  assuming  the  leadersliip,  either  a 
prisoner,  or  constantly  watched  by  the  servants  of  the 
government.  He  could  not  take  part-,  personally,  in 
the  insurrection  of  his  party.  That  their  outbreak  was 
marked  not  only  by  deeds  of  courage,  but  l)y  acts  of 
assassination,  is  a  reproach  to  the  religious  teaching  they 
had  received.  We  hear  of  no  such  deeds  in  the  early 
history  of  Christianity.  The  resemblance  between  the 
Persian  teacher  and  the  Man  of  Xazareth  would  have 
been  more  near,  had  Jesus  commanded  Peter  to  draw 
his  sword,  instead  of  directing  him  to  sheathe  it,  and 
had  he  committed  the  task  to  Judas  to  write  down  his 

law. 

While  we  admit,  too,  the  elevation  of  sentiment  ap- 
parent in  some  of  the  doctrines  of  Babism,  we  cannot 
foro-et  that  these  are  derived,  by  direct  descent,  from  the 


140 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


Gospel.  It  is  well  remarlved  by  our  historian,  that  if 
^lohanimcdanism  is  regarded  as  a  schismatic  form  of 
Christianity,  Babism  may  be  considered  a  purified  branch 
of  that  schism.  The  constant  intercourse,  too,  of  Persia 
with  Christian  nations,  the  existence  of  larnre  bodies  of 
Christians,  especially  the  Nestorians,  within  the  king- 
dom, and  the  mystical  philosophy  of  the  Sooffees,  de- 
rived probably  from  Christianity  in  a  former  age,  all 
contributed  to  prepare  tlie  way  for  that  sect,  and  that 
instructor,  whose  brief  history  adds  a  chapter  of  mourn- 
ful interest  to  the  records  of  a  land  once  foremost 
among  the  nations. 

The  enemies  of  the  Babists  have  ascribed  to  them, 
probably  vvitii  great  exaggeration,  the  preaching  of 
doctrines  subversive  of  morality.  While  we  pay  no 
attention  to  such  charges,  we  certainly  find  in  the  Ori- 
ental religion  of  the  nineteenth  century,  as  we  have 
found  in  the  American,  nothing  in  character  or  in  doc- 
trine to  supersede  the  Christian  system,  or  eclipse  the 
glory  of  its  Founder. 


MIRACLES. 


141 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Miracles. 


In  treatises  upon  the  Evidences  of  Christianity  in 
general,  the  subject  of  miracles  has  held  the  foremost 
place.  Around  this,  indeed,  the  other  portions  of  the 
arirumcnt  have  centred  :  the  orcnuinencss  and  authentici- 
ty  of  the  documents  being  objects  of  attention,  chiefly 
because  it  is  on  their  testimony  that  the  miracles  rest, 
while  the  sufferings  of  martyrs  are  brought  forward  to 
prove  the  sincerity  of  the  witnesses  to  these  miraculous 
accounts,  and  prophecies  with  their  fulfilment  are  but 
miracles  in  another  form.  Nay,  the  moral  excellence 
of  Christianity,  and  the  correctness  and  elevation  of  its 
views  respecting  God  and  man,  arc  urged  not  only  for 
their  intrinsic  worth,  or  to  win  love  and  admiration 
to  the  reliirion,  but  as  moral  miracles  which  could  not 
have  existed  but  for  a  special  divine  interposition. 
Miracle  has  thus  been  the  very  centre,  we  might  almost 
say  the  centre  and  circumference,  of  Christian  Evidences. 

And  yet  there  is  at  the  present  day  a  very  general 
tendency  to  depreciate  miraculous  evidence.  This  ten- 
dency is  not  confined  to  sceptical  writers ;  but  many 
who  receive  the  miracles  as  facts,  still  regard  them  as 
of  no  great  importance  when  viewed  as  evidence.  Thus 
Schleiermacher  argues  that  the  miracles  were  not  the 
means  of  converting  the  Jews  in  the  age  of  Christ,  who 


I 


142 


MIRACLES. 


143 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


witnessed  them  ;  still  less,  therefore,  can  they  be  such 
to  us  who  have  to  receive  them  thruuiih  a  lonir  line  of 
successive  writers.  It  wouhl  be  easy,  were  it  necessary, 
to  name  eminent  living  thcolof^ians,  who  represent  the 
miracles  as  unimportant  with  regard  to  the  })roof  they 
afford,  or  argue  that  it  is  inexpedient  to  adduce  them  in 
evidence  ;  because  the  tendency  of  the  age,  on  account 
of  the  discoveries  of  science,  is  to  discredit  all  statements 
of  that  kind. 

We  may  take  it  for  granted  that  those  who  use  such 
language,  mean  by  miracles,  only  the  outward  acts  re- 
corded as  having  been  performed  by  elesus  and  other 
teachers,  not  including  under  that  name  such  moral 
miracles  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  excellence  of  Christ's 
teaching  and  character,  and  the  providential  protection 
extended  over  the  Jewish  religion.  Even  as  thus  limited, 
however,  the  objection  against  urging  the  testimony  of 
miracles  suggests  various  observations. 

In  the  first  place,  the  miracles  cannot  be  ignored. 
To  say  nothing  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  Gospels  and 
Acts  arc  full  of  them.  From  the  annunciation  to  the 
ascension,  the  life  of  Jesus  is  miraculous.  If  such 
narratives  do  not  strengthen  our  faith  in  the  religion, 
they  weaken  it;  if  not  proofs  of  its  truth,  they  arc 
burdens  upon  it. 

They  are  burdens,  however,  that  must  be  borne,  if 
we  take  the  religion  as  it  comes  to  us.  If  we  make  it 
over  again  to  suit  our  own  taste,  by  the  method  of 
Strauss,  Renan,  or  any  others,  we  can,  indeed,  leave 
out  the  miracles,  but  consistency  will  oblige  us  to  leave 
out  much  beside.  The  prayer  of  Jesus  on  the  cross 
comes  to  us  on  similar  authority  to  that  which  tells  us 


i»»>f 


of  his  resurrection,  but  in  smaller  proportion ;  for  all 
the  Gospels  testify  to  the  latter,  while  Luke  alone  gives 
witness  to  the  former.  If,  then,  the  miracles  are  an 
inseparable  part  of  the  narrative,  we  are  not  at  liberty, 
if  we  would  be  candid  and  consistent,  to  put  them  out 
of  sight,  and  try  to  commend  Christianity  by  reasoning 
which  seems  to  imply  that  these  stories  are  alike  incredi- 
ble and  unimportant.  And  if  God  saw  fit  to  authenti- 
cate the  revelation  which  he  gave,  by  deeds  of  divine 
power,  we  have  no  right  to  lower  its  claims,  and  suppress 
part  of  its  credentials,  in  deference  to  any  prevalent 
spirit  of  scientific  scepticism. 

Let  it  be  observed,  however,  that  no  intelligent  advo- 
cate of  miracles  maintains  that  they  can  prove  a  religion 
by  themselves  alone.     The  system  nmst  also  be  worthy 
of   such   proof.     If   a  religion   was  proclaimed   which 
taught  doctrines  or   inculcated   practices   unworthy   of 
God,  as,  for  instance,  the  custom  of  human  sacrifices, 
no  miraculous  evidence   ought  to  make  us  believe  it. 
We  should  rather,  if  all  other  expedients  failed,  go  back 
to  the  refuge  of  the  Pharisees,  and  say  that  the  miracles 
were  wrought  by  the  prince  of  the  devils  ;  and  the  reply 
which  Jesus  made,   "How  can  Satan  cast  out  Satan?" 
would  not  be  applicable  to  such  a  case ;  for  the  religion 
being  satanic,  the  wonders  that  upheld  it  might  well  be 

Satanic  too. 

To  render  a  miracle  credible,  or  susceptible  of  being 
.  believed  upon  evidence,  there  must  be  first  a  sufficient 
'  occasion  for  it.     Such  is  the  rule  of  nature,  recognized 

by  Horace  in  its  application  to  poetry  : 

♦'Nee  dcus  intcrsit,  nisi  dignus  vindice  nodus 
Incident."  ^^'^  Poetica,  1.  191,  192. 

♦♦  Let  not  a  God  appear,  unless  the  occasion  be  worthy.'* 


144 


EVIDENCES  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


Thus  far  in  the  history  of  the  human  race,  there  ap- 
pears to  be'  but  one  subject  with  regard  to  which  miracles 
are  presented,  whicii  can  be  recognized  as  well  authen- 
ticated. That  subject  is  religion,  the  purpose  of  the 
miracles  being  to  give  evidence  to  communications  of 
God's  nature  and  will  to  man.  And  we  can  easily  see 
that  this  subject,  above  all  others,  presents  that  character 
which  the  rule  above  stated  requires.  For  the  attain- 
ments of  art  and  science,  human  research  might  suffice ; 
but  knowledge  with  regard  to  the  spiritual  world  can 
only  be  communicated  from  that  world  ;  and,  while  thus 
beyond  man's  attainment  except  by  revelation,  it  is  of 
the  greatest  practical  importance  to  him,  as  informing 
him  of  the  ground  and  obligation  of  duty,  of  his  con- 
nection with  his  Creator,  and  his  destiny  beyond  the 
grave.  Here,  and  here  alone,  since  the  creation  of 
mankind,  appears  to  be  the  fit  occasion  for  a  divine 
intervention. 

There  are  those  indeed,  who,  believing  in  the  mira- 
cles of  Christianity,  take  a  different  view  respecting  them. 
They  hold  that  the  spiritual  world  is  very  near  us,  and 
that  intercourse  between  its  inhabitants  and  those  who 
are  still  in  the  flesh,  is  not  so  uncommon  as  has  been 
stated  above.  On  this  view,  the  miracles  recorded  in 
the  Bible  are  but  the  most  distinguished  and  important 
instances  of  a  communication  between  the  natural  and 
the  spiritual  worlds,  which,  if  not  constantly,  is  at  least 
eren  now  occasionally  taking  place.  Such  was  the 
universal  opinion  in  past  ages.  It  then  displayed  itself 
in  the  belief  in  charms  and  omens,  magic  and  witchcraft. 
It  was  a  necessary  part  of  this  belief,  that  intercourse 
with  the  spiritual  world,  if  sometimes  allowable,  was  in 


MIRACLES. 


145 


other  instances  deeply  criminal ;  hence  arose  probably 
many  actions  of  real  criminality,  in  those  who  endeav- 
ored to  gratify  their  malignant  passions  by  the  aid  of 
demons  ;  hence,  too,  originated  those  horrible  cruelties, 
which  not  only  threw  a  stain  on  the  early  history  of 
New  England,  but  blackened  more  deeply  the  records 
of  every  country  in  Europe.  The  recollection  of  these 
awful  effects  of  delusion  should  render  us  extremely 
careful  not  to  admit,  without  the  most  convincing  evi- 
dence, the  belief  in  intercourse  with  the  spiritual  world 
as  it  has  been  revived  in  the  present  age. 

Yet  if  any  should  be  convinced,  not  only  that  the 
wonders  of  modern  spiritualism  are  amply  attested,  but 
that  no  natural  force,  whether  known  or  undiscovered, 
can  possibly  have  produced  them,  these  wonders  may 
still,  we  conceive,  be  reconciled  with  the  rule  already 
given.  In  conformity  to  that  rule,  they  would  become 
important  if  there  was  ground  to  consider  them  the 
credentials  of  a  new  revelation  ;  and  if  either  now  or  in 
future  they  should  be  accompanied  by  statements  of 
faith,  whose  character  indicated  a  divine  source,  the 
siffns  themselves  will  command  an  assent  which  has  not 
yet  been  given,  however  abundant  the  witnesses  to  their 
occurrence.  It  would  then  appear  that  in  the  present 
age  a  communication  has  been  opened  anew  between  the 
world  of  matter  and  the  world  of  spirit ;  and  for  the 
same  great  purpose  for  which  it  was  opened  in  the  days 
when  Christ  was  on  earth,  —  the  authentication  of  a 
messaiie  from  on  hiiih. 

This,  we  have  said,  appears  to  have  been  the  only 
purpose  of  miraculous  interposition  since  the  creation  of 
mankind.     That  creation  itself  was  a  series  of  miracles, 

10 


146 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Geoloijy  affords  abundant  evidence  ;  for  it  shojv^s  that 
after  long  periods,  successive  forms  of  plants,  and  suc- 
cessive races  of  animals  appeared  for  the  first  time  ;  nor 
does  it,  in  the  opinion  of  such  naturalists  as  Professor 
Ai^rassiz,  confirm  the  "  develonment  theorv,"  that  animals 
were  lormed  by  gradual  change  from  others,  the  first 
animals  from  plants,  and  these  from  inorganic  matter. 
There  must,  tlien,  have  l)een  successive  creations;  that 
is,  successive  miracles.  The  last  of  these,  as  witnessed 
by  Geoloi::v,  was  the  creation  of  man.  In  the  view  of 
Schleiermacher,  the  niission  of  Christ  was  also  a  crea- 
tion, the  creation  of  what  the  world  had  not  before  seen, 
a  perfect  man,  endowed  with  a  consciousness  of  the 
Divine  presence,  which  preserved  him  from  all  sin,  and 
exahed  him  so  liighly,  that  miracle  was  to  him  only 
the  natural  exertion  of  his  wonderful  powers.  But  this 
view,  however  interesting,  is  not  necessary  to  bring  the 
divine  action  in  revelation  into  harmony  with  that  in 
creation.  Both  show  that  the  Almighty  does  not  leave 
the  laws  of  nature  to  operate  alone  ;  that  he  regards  and 
superintends  his  works  ;  and  that,  regular  as  is  his  con- 
stant operation,  he  lias  not  precluded  himself  from 
occasional  more  visible  manifestation. 

Again,  without  the  miraculous  element  in  Christianity, 
we  should  be  de[)rived  in  a  great  degree  of  the  evidence 
it  affords  of  the  love  of  our  Heavenly  Father.  If  Jesus 
derived  the  instructions  he  communicated  from  his  own 
unaided  wisdom,  if  he  had  no  authority  but  that  of  a 
virtuous  reformer,  and  wrought  no  wonders  but  those 
which  the  powers  of  nature  would  enable  any  one  to 
perform,  then  we  have  no  message  from  on  high  ;  we 
lose  the  i)roof  which  that  messasre  would  have  given  us. 


MIRACLES. 


147 


; 


that  the  Ruler  of  nature  is  our  Friend  and  Fatlier. 
Prayer  to  him  has  not  then  the  encouragement  it  would 
derive  from  the  assurance  that  he  is  willing  to  hear  us. 
If  nature  is  governed  by  intlexiljlc  laws  alone,  then  there 
is  truth  in  that  reasoning  which  tells  us  that  it  is  in  vain 
to  j)ray,  for  prayer  can  have  no  effect  upon  the  Divine 
dealings  ;  but  if  we  know  that  the  Ivuler  of  all  once  "-ave 
back,  at  the  })rayer  of  Jesus,  the  spirit  of  Laz;unis  to 
the  frame  it  had  forsaken,  then  we  know  that  there  is  a 
personal  God  ;  that  he  hears  the  prayers  of  his  servants  ; 
and  we  are  encinu'jiged  to  hope  that  he  will  answer  them, 
though  not  now  by  miracle,  yet  by  the  dealing  of  his 
providence.  It  is  the  miracles,  therefore,  that  secure  us 
from  a  cheerless  Pantheism,  assure  us  of  the  presence 
of  a  loving  Father,  and  encourage  us  to  pray  to  liim, 
not  as  an  unnatural  and  false  device  for  excitino-  our  own 
feelings,  but  with  the  simple  faith  that  he  hears  our 
prayers  and  will  answer  them. 

Kot  only,  then,  do  we  regard  miracle  as  inseparable 
from  Christianity,  but  we  do  not  desire  to  separate  it. 
\A  e  count  it,  not  as  a  burden  to  the  religion,  but  as  an 
important  part  of  it,  not  only  [iccrcditing  the  holy  Mes- 
senger, but  giving  the  assurance  of  paternal  interest  on 
the  part  of  II im  from  whom  he  came.  Miracle  has 
been  called  the  seal  of  revelation  ;  it  is  more ;  it  is  the 
signature  of  the  Living  God,  and  we  recognize  in  it  the 
handwriting  of  our  Father. 

We  have  now  to  examine  the  views  with  regard  to 
miracle,  taken  by  the  most  prominent  of  its  recent  op- 
ponents, Strauss,  Parker,  and  lienan. 


148 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


MIRACLES. 


149 


D.  F.  Strauss. 

Th<3  explanation  given  by  Dr.  Strauss  of  the  manner 
in  wliit'Ii  the  Gospels  came  to  be  written,  is  the  follow- 
ing :  There  lived  in  Judea,  eiirhteen  hundred  years  ago, 
a  man  named  Jesus,  of  whom  very  little  authentic  in- 
formation has  reached  us.  It  is  probable  that  he  w\as 
a  virtuous  man,  who,  endeavoring  to  reform  abuses, 
incurred  the  dis|)leasure  of  those  in  power  among  his 
countrymen,  was  by  them  delivered  up  to  the  Romans, 
and  was  crucified.  lie  neither  wrought  miracles  while 
livincr,  nor  rose  from  the  dead.  His  disciides,  however, 
believed  him  to  have  been  sent  by  God,  and  propagated 
this  belief  throuuhout  the  civilized  world.  Stories  were 
told  respecting  him,  and  these,  as  they  passed  from 
mouth  to  mouth, among  his  wondering  disciples,  became 
magnified  and  multiplied,  adorned  with  supernatural 
accom[)aniinents,  and  with  marks  of  superhuman  mag- 
nanimity. One  prolific  source  of  these  stories  was  the 
Old  Testament  prophecies  ;  for  whatever  had  there  been 
predicted  of  a  great  deliverer  to  come,  the  followers  of 
Jesus  fancied  must  have  been  fulfilled  in  their  master ; 
and  from  the  thouiiht  that  it  must  have  been  fulfilled, 
the  next  step  was  to  assert  that  it  had  been  fulfilled. 

From  this  mass  of  stories,  circulating  in  the  early 
Christian  community,  the  writers  of  the  first  three  Gos- 
pels, who  were  not,  however,  the  persons  whose  names 
they  bear,  composed  their  histories,  in  good  faith,  believ- 
ing that  the  tales  they  recorded  were  true.  The  Gospel 
ascribed  to  John,  Strauss  conceives  to  have  been  writ- 
ten at  a  later  period  than  the  rest,  by  some  disciple  who 


had  derived  his  knowledge  of  Christianity  through  the 
medium  of  others,  from  the  apostle  John,  to  whom  the 
author  intended  that  it  should  be  ascribed ;  that  this  au- 
thor had  a  high  reverence  for  the  memory  of  the  apostle, 
and  desired,  as  far  as  possible,  to  exalt  him  ;  that  he  was, 
also,  deeply  imbued  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  Alexan- 
drian school,  which  appear  not  only  in  his  introduction, 
but  in  the  language  ascribed  by  him  to  John  the  Baptist, 
and  to  Christ.  This  writer,  according  to  Dr.  Strauss, 
is  much  less  trustworthy  than  the  other  Evangelists  ;  the 
conversation  with  Xicodemus  is  a  philosophical  myth,  or 
rather,  in  plain  terms,  a  fiction,  even  to  the  very  existence 
of  that  person  ;  the  raising  of  Lazarus  equally  fictitious  ; 
and  the  conversations  held  by  our  Savior  with  his  apos- 
tles, as  recorded  by  this  writer,  deserving  of  no  confidence. 
Strauss,  indeed,  modified  these  views  greatly  in  his  third 
edition ;  but  the  concessions  which  he  then  made,  fatal 
as  they  threatened  to  be  to  his  own  theory,  were  ex- 
plicitly recalled  in  the  fourth. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  bold  theory  throws  doubt, 
not  upon  the  miracles  alone.  Those  incidents  in  the  life 
of  Christ  which  are  marked  by  anything  of  peculiar  mag- 
nanimity or  piety,  —  whatever  appears  as  the  fulfilment 
of  any  ancient  })rophecy,  —  whatever  parable  or  precept 
resembles  at  all  what  is  recorded  of  other  teachers,  or 
wliat  the  Jews  would  naturally  expect  of  their  Mes- 
siah,—  all  these  come  under  suspicion  of  being  the  prod- 
ucts of  tiiat  most  fertile  spirit  of  invention  with  which 
the  early  Christians,  if  we  are  to  believe  this  writer,  made 
for  themselves  a  leader,  to  account  for  their  own  otlicr- 
wise  unaccountable  existence.  Tlie  touching  expressions 
of  Jesus  on  the  cross  are  considered  as  invented  for  him 


150 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


f 


1 


i    |. 


scarce  less  than  the  exhibition  of  divine  power  in  the  rais- 
inir  of  Lazarus.  Nothinii',  in  fact,  remains  to  us  of  the 
Founder  of  Christianity,  from  the  analysis  of  this  writer, 
but  the  shadow  of  one  who  was  executed  by  crucifixion, 
in  Judca,  and  who  was,  probably,  a  virtuous  teacher  and 
reformer. 

We  remark  upon  this  ingenious  and  daring  theory, 
that  it  is  not  the  result  of  imjiartial  examination  into  the 
evidence  of  the  New  Testament   history.     It  is  an  effort 
to  reach  a  conclusion  which  had  been  already  determined 
on.     Strauss  sets  out  with  laying  down  the  principle, 
derived  from  his  pliilosophical  opinions,  that  a  miraculous 
revelation  is  an   impossil)lc  thing.     Ranking  confessedly 
with  the  "  extreme  left,"  or  ultra  portion  of  the  Hegelian 
school,  Strauss,  as  a  matter  of  [)hilosoi)hy  antecedent  to 
historical  investigation,  denies  the  possibility  of  miracles, 
and  the  doctrine  of  an  individual  resurrection.     "A  life 
beyond  the  grave,"  he  says,"  is  the  last  enemy  which 
speculative  criticism  has    to  oppose,  and  if  possible,  to 
vanquish."*     "When,  in  the  first  j)lace,  a  solution  of 
the  ditiiculties  which  I  find  in  the  biblical  history,  satis- 
factory to  myself,  is  put  before  me  ;  and  when,  second- 
ly, a  solution  oF  the  philosophical  views  which  I  have 
against  the  possibility  of  a  miracle,  then  will  I  allow  my- 
self to  be  convinced."     "  A  miracuh>us  operation  upon 
natural  objects,  or  products  of  art,  —  as  turning  water 
into  wine,   or  nudtiplication  of  loaves,  —  admits  of  no 
possil)le  explanation.     Even  the  conception  of  such  a  pos- 
sibility is  so  far  out  of  the  question,  that  1  must  lose  my 
senses,  before  I  could  receive  any  thing  of  the  kind."  j 

*  Ciiristlichc  Ghiubenslcbre,  ii.  730. 

t  Streitschriften,   Heft  iii.  18,    155.     See  Dr.  Beard's  Voices  of 
the  Church,  pp.  21.  33. 


MIRACLES. 


151 


To  some,  probably,  the  very  fact  that  this  author, 
supposed  to  be  an  impartial  judge,  has  decided  again.st 
the  miraculous  character  of  Christianity,  may  have  had 
influence  enough  to  unsettle  their  belief.  Let  such  ob- 
serve that  he  comes  to  his  task  with  a  foregone  con- 
clusion. Who  could  be  admitted  as  a  juror,  with  the 
declaration  upon  his  lips  that  he  must  lose  his  senses 
before  he  could  believe  in  the  innocence  of  the  prisoner 
he  is  to  try? 

In  the  next  place,  we  have,  as  will  be  shown  in  a 
subsequent  chapter,  the  evidence  of  a  series  of  writers, 
extending  back  to  the  very  times  of  the  apostles,  to  the 
authenticity  of  the  Gospels,  as  having  been  written 
by  persons  who,  as  one  of  them  expresses  it,  "had  per- 
fect understanding  of  all  things,  from  the  very  first." 
(Luke  i.  8.) 

Thirdly,  these  Gospels  stand  not  alone.  Strauss 
himself  admits  distinctly  the  testimony  of  the  Acts,  and 
the  Epistles,  as  proving  that  the  apostles  believed  in 
the  resurrection  of  their  ^Master,  the  greatest  miracle  of 
Christianity.  His  admissions  here,  are  in  the  following 
words.  They  are  of  great  importance,  as  the  unwilling 
testimony  of  a  most  competent  judge,  alike  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  documents  refeiTcd  to,  and  to  the  belief 
of  the  earliest  Christians  in  the  resurrection  of  their 
Lord. 

"From  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  and  tlie  Acts,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  apostles  themselves  had  the  persuasion, 
that  they  had  seen  the  Arisen."  (Leben  «Jesu,  vol. 
ii.  p.  6o2,  first  edition.     Translation,  vol.  iii.  p.  3G5.) 

"For  the  rest,  the  passage  from  the  Fii'st  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians  is  not  hereby  weakened,  which,  un- 


-  i 


152 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


doubtedly  genuine,  was  written  about  the  year  59  after 
Christ,  therefore  not  thirty  years  after  his  resurrection. 
Upon  tliis  information,  we  must  admit,  that  many  mem- 
bers of  the  first  community,  still  living  at  the  time  of 
the  composition  of  that  Epistle,  particularly  the  apos- 
tles, were  persuaded  that  they  had  witnessed  appear- 
ances of  the  risen  Christ."  (Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  G29. 
Translation,  iii.  345.) 

Strauss  supposes  the  apostles  self-deceived,  through 
the  excited  state  of  their  minds.  But  if  we  cannot  take 
their  own  evidence  with  regard  to  what  themselves  had 
seen,  it  is  hard  to  say  what  possible  evidence  would  con- 
vince us  of  the  fact  to  which  they  testify. 

Fourthly,  the  time  that  clasped  between  the  person- 
al ministry  of  Christ  and  the  writing  of  the  Gospels,  is 
utterly  too  short  to  allow  such  a  growth  of  myths,  tra- 
ditions, or  marvellous  stories,  as  this  theory  requires. 
Such  stories  are  of  slow  growth.  In  the  cases  which 
this  author  quotes  as  similar,  hundreds  of  years  elapsed 
before  the  facts  of  history  became  clothed  with  the  fairy 
garb  of  popular  tradition.  Yet  he  would  have  us  believe 
that  in  about  tliirty  years  from  the  death  of  Jesus,  while 
many  of  those  who  had  seen  and  hoard  him  nmst  have 
been  yet  living,  the  true  idea  of  him  had  been  com- 
pletely supplanted  in  the  minds  of  men,  by  that  of  a  be- 
ing scarce  less  different  from  him  in  moral  than  in  super- 
natural greatness.  It  is  seventy  years  since  AVashing- 
ton  ceased  to  breathe.  Is  his  life,  —  idolized  as  his  mem- 
ory is  amongst  us, — is  his  life  so  obscured  by  popular 
traditions  that  we  cannot  depend  upon  the  information 
we  receive  concerninij  it  ? 

But  in  our  view  the  most  convincing  reply  to  the 


MIRACLES. 


153 


fancy  of  the  German  theorist   is  to  be  drawn  from  the 
perfections  of  our  Lord's  character,  and  of  tlie  religion 
which  he  gave.      This  subject  we  have  already  cont^'em- 
plated.      A\'u  have  seen  how  perfect  in  every  moral  grace, 
how  far  beyond  all   other  instructors  of  mankincf,  was 
the  character  of  him   who  appeared  as  the  deleoate  of 
the  Father,   and  the  example  of  men.     The   religion, 
too,  which  he  gave,  has  stood  for  ages  the  test  of  hostile 
criticism,  and  of  rivalsliii)  with  the  best  efforts  of  human 
genius  ;  yet  it  is  unsurpassed,  unvanquished,  unequalled. 
And  this  holy  life,  this  perfect  system,  if  we  are  to  be- 
lieve Dr.   Strauss,   were  not  even  the  invention  of  an 
artful  mind.     They  grew  by  chance,  —  the  material  fur- 
nished piecemeal   by  the   popular  fancies  of  Jews  and 
early  Christians,  —  and  put  together  without  design  or 
art,  yet  forming,  when  combined,  the  object  of  admira- 
tion to  the  world,   the  aim  of  vain  endeavor  to  excel 
or  equal,  through  centuries  of  the  highest  civilization. 
When  we  can  believe  of  some  noble  ship,  whose  pro- 
portions exhibit  the   perfection   of   naval   architecture, 
that  it  was  put  together  in   mere  sport  by  untauirht 
rustics,  from  driftwood  which   they  had  gathered  from 
the  banks  of  a  stream,  then   may  we    believe  that  the 
divine  portraiture  of  the  Savior  in  tlie  Gospels  was  the 
combination  of  unfounded  popular  fancies,  and  that  his 
holy  law,   of  purity,   humility,   peace,  and  love  came 
from  no  higher  source  than  the  imagination  of  a  sect 
wliich  sprung  up  by  a  strange  chance  lin  narrow-minded 
Galilee,  lascivious  Corinth,  and  blood-stained  Rome. 


154 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


Theodore  Pahker. 


The  memory  of  this  eminent  man  is  held  in  respect 
amono-  us,  well  merited  by  his  2^reat  talents,  his  exten- 
sive  learning,  and  especially  by  his  services  in  the  cause 
of  freedom.  Ihit  we  have  now  to  examine,  not  the 
character  of  the  individual,  but  the  views  he  expressed 
on  the  subject  of  the  Christian  miracles  ;  and  we  have 
frequent  occasion  to  guard  ourselves  against  being  led 
into  error  by  the  autliority  of  popular  names. 

The  work  of  Mr.  Parker  to  which  we  shall  particu- 
larly refer,  is  hid  volume  entitled  "A  Discourse  of  Mat- 
ters pertaining  to  lleligion."  This,  though  written  at 
a  com})aratively  early  period  of  his  course,  discusses  the 
subject  in  question  more  fully  than  any  of  his  later 
writings  ;  and  if  his  opinions  were  afterwards  modified, 
it  was  by  receding  still  further  from  Christianity  as 
commonly  held. 

The  ''  Discourse  "  exhibits  great  learning  and  nuich 
ingenuity,  and  in  many  passages  gives  evidence  of  an 
ability  to  comprehend  and  apj)reciate  tlie  beauty  of  holi- 
ness, as  it  is  presented  in  tlie  life  and  the  precepts  of 
Christ.  The  author  delineates  the  various  forms  in 
which,  as  lie  conceives,  the  religious  sentiment  has 
developed  itself,  as  Feticliism,  Idolatry,  ^lonotheism  — 
followin"-  in  this  the  arranixement  of  Comte.  Of  these 
forms  the  last  is  the  noblest ;  and  he  considers  Chris- 
tianity, as  it  was  proclaimed  and  exemplified  by  Jesus 
himself,  as  the  pure  or  absolute  system  of  ^Monotheism. 
Christi  uiity,  therefore,  is  true  ;  not  on  the  ground  of  its 
alleired  miracles,  but  on  its  iuternal  evidence.     This  is, 


MIRACLES. 


1  "  » 

loo 


he  argues,  the  proper  test,  moral  truth  commending 
itself  to  the  mind  in  a  way  similar  to  mathematical  truth"; 
miracles,  therefore,  are  superfluous  at  best,  and  the  evi- 
dence on  which  those  of  Christianity  arc  sustained,  he 
considers  essentially  defective. 

Tiiere  is  a  wide  difference  between  the  system  of  this 
writer  and  that  of  Strauss,  with  which  it   is  probably 
often  confounded.     In   reference  to   Christianity,    Mr. 
Parker  begins  with  establishing  the  excellence  of  the 
preceptive  and  moral  part  of  Christianity,  and  thence 
proceeding  to  the  miracles,   pronounces  them  useless, 
and  not  satisfactorily   proved.      Strauss,   on  the  other 
hand,  commences  with  the  miracles,  pronounces  them 
impossible,   and   proceeds   to   propose   and   establish   a 
theory  to  account  for  the  origin   of   these  remarkable 
stories.     But  in  dissolving  the  miracles  into  thin  air,  he 
does  not,  like  Parker,  spare  the  moral  and  preceptive 
parts  of  the  Gospels,  or  the  example  of  Christ.      With 
stern  impartiality,  and  apparently  in  utter  blindness  to 
the  grandeur  and  loveliness  of  what  he  sweeps  away, 
he    explains,    one   by   one,    discourse,   parable,  praver, 
miracle,  beneficent  action,  and  patient  endurance,  into 
fictions,  leaving  little  more  than  the  fact  that  a  man  of 
Kazareth,  named  Jesus,  lived,  taught,  and  was  crucified. 
The  extravagance  and  impossibility  of  Strauss's  theory 
is,  that  he   supposes   this  immense  harvest  of  myths  to 
have  grown,  from  scarce  any   beginning,  into  popuhu- 
belief  in  the  course  of  a  single  generation.     Ai)art  from 
this  insuperable  objection,  his  system  is  consistent  and 
perfect, —a  masterpiece  of  skill  misapplied,  —  a   tri- 
umph of  intellect,  "clear,  but  O,  how  cold  !  " 

On  the  other  hand,  the  system  of  Mr.  Parker,  warm 


156 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


with  ti  feeling  recognition  of  tlie  holiness  of  the  Savior's 
character  and  precepts,  is  by  this  very  recognition  ren- 
dered inconsistent  with  itself.  Rejecting  the  miracles, 
he  still  retains  his  faith  in  narratives  which  are  supported 
by  the  same  external  evidence.  He  retains  the  super- 
structure of  Christianity  while  he  removes  the  founda- 
tion on  which  it  rests.  Mr.  Parker  gives  no  theoiy  of 
the  miracles ;  —  hence  the  apparent  strength  of  his 
argument,  disguising  its  real  weakness.  He  does  nut 
attempt  to  explain  how  the  historians,  on  whose  veracity 
he  relies  for  a  correct  account  of  Christ's  words  and 
natural  actions,  were  so  egregiously  deceived  or  deceivers 
as  falsely  to  ascribe  to  him  supernatural  actions.  Had 
any  such  attempt  been  made,  we  may  reasonably  con- 
clude that  it  would  not  have  succeeded  better  than  those 
of  Paulus,  Venturini,  and  others,  whose  absurdity  has 
been  sufficiently  proved  by  the  acute  and  self-consistent 
logic  of  Strauss. 

We  cannot  but  notice  the  manner  in  which  ^Ir.  Parker 
classes  the  ancient  revelation,  given,  as  we  believe,  by 
God  through  Moses,  with  the  systems  of  Pagan  idolatry. 
He  is  fond  of  such  expressions  as  these  :  "  Every  nation, 
city,  or  family  has  its  favorite  God,  —  a  Zeus,  Athena, 
fFuno,  Odin,  Baal,  Jehovah,  Osiris,  or  ]\Ielkartha,  who  is 
supposed  to  be  partial  to  tlie  nation  which  is  his  'chosen 
people."  "  Neither  the  Zeus  of  the  Iliad,  nor  the  Elohim 
of  Genesis,  nor  the  Jupiter  of  the  Pharsalia,  nor  even 
the  Jehovah  of  the  Jewish  prophets,  is  always  this"  — 
(the  Being  of  infinite  power,  wisdom ,  and  love) .  "  Kom- 
ulus,  ^Eacus,  Minos,  jSIoscs,  receive  their  laws  from 
God."  These  passages  occur  in  the  section  of  the  tif'tii 
chapter,  first  book,  which  treats  of  Polytheism.      If  the 


MIRACLES. 


157 


point  can  be  made  out  that  the  Jews  were  Polytheists, 
let  it  be  proved ;  but  till  we  have  at  least  some  pretence 
of  proof,  let  not  the  monstrous  conclusion  be  coolly 
taken  for  granted. 

The    fourth    chapter  of  Mr.  Parker's  third  book  is 
entitled  "  The  Authority  of  Jesus,  its  Ileal  and  Pretended 
Source."     In  this  chapter  he  argues,  first,  that  "  the  only 
authority  of  Christianity  is  its  truth,"  — and  that  this 
being  self-evident,   testimony  is    altogether  superfluous 
and  unnecessary.     To  such  an  argument,  already  re- 
ferred to,  it  is,  perhaps,  enough  to  reply  that  it  appears 
to  confuse  two  things  difterent  in  their  nature,  —  moral 
and  demonstrative  reasoning.     IVIathematical  truths,  the 
subjects   of   demonstration,   can   acquire  no  force  from 
testimony,  to  those  whose  minds  are  capable  of  appre- 
ciating the  description  of  evidence  on  which  they  proper- 
ly rest.     Moral  truths  are  intrinsicnlly  different.     They 
admit  of  degrees  in  our  persuasion  of  them,  according  to 
the  considerations  which  may  be  urged  for  and  agahist 
them  ;  and  among  such  considerations,  that  of  testimony, 
whether  natural  or  supernatural,  may  properly  find  a  place. 
In  his  next  section,  Mr.  Parker  speaks  "of  the  au- 
thority derived  from  the  alleged  miracles  of  Jesus."     To 
this  authority  he  objects  at  the  outset  that  the  claim  is 
not  peculiar  to  Christianity,  as  other  religions  also  claim 
to  be  miraculous  in  their  character.     To  this  objection 
the  reply  is  obvious,  Let  the  other  reVv/ions  prove  their 
nnracles,  as  those  of  Christianity  are  proved.     For  the 
visions  of  Mohammed  we  have  nothing  but  his  own  word. 
The  wonders  of  Grecian  mythology  are  attested  only  by 
the  poets,  and  by  traditions  whose  origin  none  pretended 
to  verify.     So  too  with  the  Scandinavian  and  Oriental 


lo8 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIAxMTY. 


miracle's. 


159 


mytliologies.     OF  the  pretended  Catholic  and  Mormonite 
miracles,  some  have  been  fully  exposed  as  deceptions, 
and  all  are  combined  with  systems  whose  internal  evi- 
dence of  untruth  is  too  strong'  to  allow  them  to  be  prov- 
able by  any  miracles.      Xotwith.^tanding  the  assertions 
to  the  contrary,  with   which   this  section  abounds,  the 
miracles  of  the  Bible  stand  alone,  as  claiming  to  rest  on 
appreciable  evidence,  and  in  connection  with  a  system  of 
belief,  worthy  of  such  support.     This  last  is  one  of  those 
considerations  which  Mv.  Parker  overlooks.     lie  argues 
about  miracles  and  internal  evidence  as  if  to  believe  the 
one  were  to  reject  the  other ;  as  if  it  were  impossible  or 
inadmissible  to  unite  them,  and  let  them  strengthen  one 
another.      So  far  from  this  being  the  case,  it  is  admitted 
by  all  intelligent  advocates  of  the  Christian   miracles, 
that  the  high  character  of  the  system  in  favor  of  which 
they  are  adduced,   is  a  most  important  consideration, 
an  indispensable  one,  indeed,  for  their  own  credibility. 
This  imi)ortant  principle  is  well  laid  down  in  an  article 
in    the    Edinburgh    Review,  for   October,    1847.      The 
author  of   that  article  says,   in   speaking  of  a  test  of 
miracles,  "  But  the  rule  of  rules  which  approaches  as 
nearly  to  a  test  as  the   nature  of  the  subject  seems  to 
allow,  is  the  rule  which  makes  the  force   of  evidence 
from  miracles  depend  on  their  conjunction  with  internal 
evidence,  and  on  their  conspiring  with  a  high  and  worthy 
object."     "As  the  main  ground  of  the  admissibility  of 

such  attestations  is  the  worthiness  of  the  object, the 

doctrine,  to  receive  them,  its  unworthiness  will  discredit 
even  the  most  distinctly  alleged  apparent  miracles,  and 
such  worthiness  or  unworthiness  depends  solely  on  our 
moral  judgment  of  the  consistency  of  the  doctrine  with 


other  acknowledgd  truths."  In  accordance  with  this 
view,  the  writer  quotes  the  sentiments  of  Johnson, 
Arnold,  Doederlein,  Pascal,  and  AMiately. 

The  question,  AMiat  is  a  miracle?  Mr.  Parker  an- 
swers with  distinctness,  and  in  a  manner  deservino-  of 
particular  attention.  "A  miracle,"  says  he,  "is  on^'e  of 
three  things  :  1.  It  is  a  transgression  of  all  law  which 
God  has  made  ;  or,  2.  A  transgression  of  all  known 
laws,  but  obedience  to  a  law  which  we  may  yet  discover ; 
or,  3.  A  transgression  of  all  law  known  or  knowable 
by  man,  but  yet  in  conformity  with  some  law  out  of  our 
reach." 

Declaring  a  miracle  under  the  first  definition  to  be 
unpossible,  and  that  what  the  second  definition  describes 
IS  no  miracle  at  all,  he  distinctly  admits  the  possibility 
of  the  third  hypothesis.  This  admission  the  Christian 
may  accept  with  full  satisfaction.  It  corresponds  to  the 
character  which  is  most  properly  assigned  to  the  miracles 
of  Jesus.  None  can  suppose  them  arbitrary  acts,  with- 
out reason,  and  therefore  without  law.  But  how  they 
were  wrought,  in  conformity  to  what  system,  we  know 
not,  nor  is  it  probable  we  ever  shall  know,  until  we 
become  clothed  with  immortality. 

He  next  inquires.  Did  miracles  occur  in  the  case  of 
Christianity?  On  this  question  he  observes  correctly 
that  it  is  purely  historical,  to  be  answered  like  all  other 
historical  questions,  by  competent  testimony. 

AVe  have  now  come  to  the  very  kernel  of  the  nut  — 
the  section  in  Mr.  Parker's  book  upon  which  its  trust- 
worthmess  depends.  If  he  can  convince  us  that  there 
IS  not  sufficient  competent  testimony  to  prove  the  miracles 
of  the  Bible,  historical  Christianity  is  overthrown,  and 


160 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY 


n 


we  must  content  ourselves  with  such  fragments' of  tlie 
fabric  as  with  our  autlior's  assistance  we  can  save  from 
the  crumbling  mass.  If  he  fails  to  prove  this,  and  if, 
on  the  contrary,  the  evidence  of  miracles  stands  unin- 
jured by  the  assault  here  made  upon  it,  his  entire  theory 
falls.  If  the  miracles  are  actually  proved,  it  is  idle  to 
argue  that  there  is  no  need  of  them.  Such  arguments 
will  not  prevent  us  from  believing  them. 

And  what   do  we  find  in  this  all-important  section? 
An  attempt  like  that  of  Paulus,  to  explain  the  miracles 
on  natural  principles?     One  like  that  of  Strauss,  to  ac- 
count for  the  origin  of  such  stories  when  no  correspond- 
ing  actions   had   taken   place?     Nothing   of  the   kind. 
The  witnesses,  the  very  witnesses,  to  whom  ^Ir.  Parker 
has  given  the  highest  praise  in  declaring  that  the  religious 
system   they  have  transmitted  to  us  is  the  absolute,  the 
true  religion  —  these  witnesses  he  now  attempts  to  dis- 
credit by  some  cursory  observations  on  their  discrepan- 
cies, and   our   uncertainty  as   to   their  authority.     He 
compares  the  canonical  Gospels  with  the  apocryi)hal ;  a 
comparison  which,  as  we  shall  see  in  another  chapter, 
will,  when   fairly  carried  out,  increase  our  faith  in  the 
genuine  documents,  by  the  strong  contrast  they  present 
to  those  wretched  imitations.     He  admits  the  very  strong 
evidence  which  exists  from  the  Epistles  as  well  as  the 
Gospels,    for   the   resurrection ;    but   enumerating   with 
great  exaggeration  the  circumstances  which  in  his  opinion 
render  that  miracle  incredible,  he  declares  that  he  can- 
not  believe   such   facts   on  such  evidence.     He   leaves 
unmentioned,  however,  the  strongest  of  the  evidences  for 
the  resurrection  —  the  fact  that  Christ's  doctrine,  instead 
of  remaining  crushed  by  the  death  of  its  promulgator, 


MIRACLES. 


161 


immediately  rose  and  diffused  itself  through  the  world, 
arming  its  adherents  with  the  strength  of  the  martyr 
spirit,  and  uniting  on  its  banners  the  name  of  the  resur- 
rection with  that  of  Jesus. 

Next  follows  a  comparison  of  the  miracles  of  Christ 
with  those  ascribed  by  monkish  historians  to  St.  Ber- 
nard, —  with  the  wonders  of  the  Salem  witchcraft,  — 
with  the  case  of  llichard  Dugdale,  the  ^'  Surey  Impostor." 
The  nnracles  of  St.  Bernard  and  the  Salem  wonders 
possess,  in  Mr.   Parker's  opinion,  more  evidence  than 
the  mn-acles  of  Christ.     He  does  not  say  "  better  evi- 
dence," and  it  seems  hardly  possible  that  such  can  have 
been  the  meaning  he  intended  to  convey.     The  compari- 
sons he  suggests  are  worth  following  out. 

St.  Bernard,  of  Clairvaux,  is  known  to  us  throuo-h 
the  medium   of  Church  History,  as  one  who  wrouglit 
vyonders    by  genius,    eloquence,   courage,  and  genuine 
though    mistaken    piety.     He  is   asserted   by   monkish 
historians  to  have  wrought  miracles  also.     The  difference 
between  these  narrators  and  those  who  record  the  mira- 
cles  of  the    Savior,  is  sufficiently   obvious.     Bernard 
moved  among  those  who  were  disposed  to  receive  his 
actions  and   his  teachings  with  the  greatest  reverence ; 
to  look  fur  miracles  from  him,  not  to  question  his  powei 
to  perform  them  :  the  narrators  of  his  wonders  incurred 
no  risk  of  martyrdom   for  their  attestation,  but  rather 
were  encouraged  to  invent  miracles  by  the  ideas  of  their 
age,  to  which  pious  frauds  were  not  unknown.     In  these 
respects  the  case  was  entirely  diflferent  with  the  miracles 
ot  Christ.      I  hey  were  wrought  in  the  midst  of  jealous 
enemies  ;  they  were  witnessed  and  recorded  by  men  who 
must  have  known  that  their  lives  were  endangered  bv 

11  «  ^ 


162 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


the  testimony  they  gave.  Above  all,  there  could  not  be 
in  the  case  of  Bernard,  that  occasion  for  miracles,  that 
^'dic/nus  Deo  vimllce  7iodus,"  which  can  alone  be  pre- 
sented by  the  great  occasion  of  making  a  revelation  to 
mankind. 

The  miracles  ascribed  to  St.  Bernard  appear  in  con- 
nection with  his  advocacy  of  the  second  crusade.     When, 
about  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  Christian 
kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  established  by  the  victories  of 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  was  threatened  bv  the  Saracens, 
and  the  important  outpost  of  Edessa  had  already  fallen, 
the  Christians  of  the  East  sent  a  supi)liant  embassy  for 
aid  to  their  western  brethren.     Kings  and  people  were 
alike  excited ;    but  the  most  powerful  advocate  of  the 
new  crusade   was   Bernard,   then  at   the   hei^dit   of  his 
popularity  and  power.      lie  was  one  of  those  persons 
who  seem  born  to  command  others.     When  he  entered 
the  monastic  life,  his  influence  carried  five  companions 
with  him  ;  and  after  he  became  abbot,  he  procured  the 
recognition,  by  France  and  England,  of  Pope  Innocent 
II.  over  his  rival,  Anacletus.     He  refused  the  archbish- 
opric of  Milan,  met  and  vanquished  the  celebrated  Abe-, 
lard,  and,  to  use  the  language  of  Mosheim,  his  "word 
was  a  law,"  and  his  "counsels  were  regarded  by  kin^rs 
and  princes  as  so  many  orders   to  which   the  most  re- 
spectful obedience  was  due." 

Bernard,  in  preaching  the  crusade,  visited  the  cities 
on  the  Rhine;  and  in  each,  we  are  told,  he  restored 
sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the  deaf,  and  cured  the 
lame  and  the  sick  ;  thirty-six  miracles  are  recorded  as 
performed  in  one  day.  The  disciples  who  followed  him 
could  not  help  regretting  that  the  tumult  wherever  he 


MIRACLES. 


163 


appeared,  prevented  their  seeing  several  of  his  miracles. 
Piiilip,  Archdeacon  of  Liege,  gives  a  detailed  relation 
of  those  which  were  wrought  in  the  space  of  a  month, 
appealing  to  the  authority  of  ten  eye-witnesses.  There 
is  good  reason  to  believe,  therefore,  that  if  not  by 
Divine  interposition,  yet  by  the  effect  of  strong  excite- 
ment on  the  nerves  of  the  sick,  some  cures  were  actually 
wrouiiht. 

But,  unfortunately  for  his  flime  as  a  worker  of  mira- 
cles, Bernard  claimed  also  the  character  of  a  prophet. 
In  the  excess  of  his  zeal  for  what  he  thought  a  holy 
cause,  he  foretold,  in  the  name  of  the  Mos^  High,  a 
series  of  splendid  triumphs.  The  effect  of  such  prom- 
ises, from  one  so  eloquent  and  so  honored,  was  such 
that,  in  his  own  words,  he  depopulated  cities  and  prov- 
inces. Glowing  with  faith  and  courage,  the  strength 
of  Europe  came  forth  to  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Land. 

The  crusade,   however,  was  utterly  a  failure.     Two 
or  three  years  were  spent  in  constant  disaster  and  suffcr- 
mg;  and  then  the  renmant  who  survived  returned,  hav- 
ing accomplished  nothing.     There  was  a  general  outcry 
against  Bernard,  and  he  could  but  make  the  feeble  de- 
fence, that  his  prediction  of  success  was  of  course  con- 
ditional, and  that  it  was   not   fulfilled    because   of  the 
unworthiness  of  the  crusaders.      Notwithstanding  this 
apology,   the   result  of   the  crusade   clearly  settlers    the 
question  as  to  P>ernard's  prophetic  foresight.     As  effect- 
ually, if  not    as    obviously,  it  settles  that   relating  to 
his  miraculous  power ;  unless  we  can  believe  that^'thc 
Almighty  would  impart  that  power  to  a  mistaken  enthu- 
siast, to  enable  him  to  lead  thousands  of  his  felbw-men 
to  destruction. 


--  f  1 


i'  r 


161 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANIXy. 


i 


As  to  the  Salem  witchcraft,  into  a  degrading  compar- 
ison with  which  ^Ir.  Parker  brings  tlie  miracles  of  our 
Lord,  did  he  never  read  that  many  of  the  very  persons 
most  implicated  in  that  delusion  subsequently  acknowl- 
edged their  error?  Could  he  point  in  the  New  Testament 
history  to  a  recantation  on  the  part  of  John  or  of  Peter, 
like  that  of  Chief  Justice  Sewall?  We  may,  indeed, 
with  irood  reason  consider  all  the  survivini>^  witnesses 
and  agents  in  those  melancholy  transactions  as  uniting 
in  the  repentant  acknowledgments  that  were  afterwards 
made  by  the  puldic  voice  of  New  England.  The  re- 
marks made  on  the  miracles  of  St.  Bernard  are  also  in 
part  api)licable  here.  The  witnesses  were  sustained  by 
the  jreneral  public  fcelinix.  There  mav  have  been  some 
cases  in  which,  through  the  strong  delusion  of  the  pe- 
riod, the  victims  admitted  their  own  guilt,  and  thus 
insured  their  own  execution  ;  but  the  cases  were  proba- 
bly far  more  numerous  in  which  they  resolutely  main- 
tained their  innocence,  even  when  life  might  have  been 
saved  by  pretence  of  acknowledgment  and  repentance. 
But  here  more  strikiiiGflv  than  in  the  case  before  men- 
tioned,  the  most  obvious  difference  is  in  the  occasion  for 
the  miracle.  That  God  should  interrui)t  the  common 
laws  of  nature  to  gratify  the  malevolence  of  some 
wicked  woman  or  child,  who  wished  to  inflict  some 
petty  injury  on  a  neighbor,  is  a  supposition  so  absurd 
as  to  defy  all  testimony  to  prove  it.  That  God  should, 
at  some  few  solenm  periods  in  the  history  of  a  world, 
ffive  some  miraculous  attestation  to  those  truths  which 
are  of  most  importance  to  man  to  know,  is  to  the  re- 
flecting mind  more  probable  than  that  he  should  leave 
his  children  entirely  to  the  doubtful  light  of  nature. 


MIRACLES. 


165 


li 


ll 


(. 


"But  now,"  says  Mr.  Parker,  "admitting  in  argu- 
ment that  Jesus  wrought  all  the  miracles  alleged;  that 
In's  birth  and  resurrection  were  both  miraculous ;  that 
he  was  the  only  person  endowed  with  such  miraculous 
power,  — it  does  not  follow  that  he  shall  teach  true 
doctrine."  This  argument  is  hardly  worth  a  serious 
answer. 

The  section  concludes,  and  with  it  the  chapter,  with  a 
repetition  of  the  argument,  that  if  Christianity  be  true, 
its  truth  is  self-apparent,    and   therefore   miracles   are 
unnecessary;   fortified   by  a  quotation  from  Locke,  in 
which,  according  to   our  author,   that  philosopher  ad- 
mitted the  worthlessness  of  miracles.      Such,  indeed, 
would  be  the  conclusion  derived  from  a  cursory  exam- 
ination  of  that   passage,    under  the  guidance  of  Mr. 
Parker's  italics :  such  was  not  the  meaning  of  Locke. 
All  that  is  claimed  in  the  passage  is,  that  reason  must 
be  the  judge   of  miracles  —  first,  of  the  nature  of  the 
action  alleged  to   be  miraculous,  and  secondly,  of  the 
credibihty  of  the  doctrine,  to  maintain  which  the  miracle 
is  said  to  have  been  wrought.     "  The  miracles,"  he  says, 
"  are  to  be  judged  by  the  doctrine,  not  the  doctrine  by 
the  miracles."     To  this,  as  properly  understood,  every 
intelligent  Christian  assents.     It  is  but  the  expression, 
in   other  words,   of  the  rule   alre^xdy  quoted  from   the 
Edinburgh   Review,   the    rule   which    makes    the  force 
of  evidence  from  miracles  depend  on  their  conjunction 
with  internal  evidence,  and  on  their  conspiring  with  a 
high  and  worthy  object. 

It  IS  admitted  that  miraculous  evidence  would  not  be 
competent  to  convince  us  of  the  truth  of  an  inhuman, 
degrading,  sensual  doctrine ;  to  set  up  again  the  bloody 


Ii36 


EVIDENCES    OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


altar  of  Moloch,  or  ti.e  liccntiou.s  rites  of  Astarte.     But 
>s  the  n„n.(.ul,.u«  evidence,  therefore,  worthless,  which 
assures  ,.s  that  the  holy  words  of  Jesns  are  not  tnerely 
the  nm.,„j,,s  of  a  .<aj;c,  hut  the   message  of  Go.l  ?     To 
Mi:  larker.   ,t  appears  those   won!.,    recouin.eiKled    hy 
thcr   u.tnnsic   truth,    needed   no   other   sanction.      To 
'uany  it  is  not  so.      To  the  mass  of  mankind   it  is  not 
aiul  ,t  never  can  he,  a  matter  of  inditflrenee  whether  tiie 
doctrines  of  a  future  lite,  and  of  divine  providence,  have 
or  have  not  the  seal   of  miracles.     Thanks  he  to  God 
that  the  holy  seal  is  plain  and  clear ;  and  that  every  in- 
vestigation of  its  authority  estahlishcs  more  firmly  the 
genuineness  of  tiie  impression  it  bears  from  the  chan- 
cery-of  heaven. 

Kenan. 

Among  recent  writers  against  tlic  Justorical  truth  of 
the  Gospel  records,  none  iias  attracted  so  much  attention 
as  M.  Lrnest  Itei.an.     Hi,  "Life  of  Jesus"  possesses 
..uk!.  o    the  interest  of  a  romance  ;   and  for  the  reason 
that  he  has,  like  a  writer  of  fiction,  derived  his  narrative 
in  great  part  from  his  own  imagination.      With  his  live- 
Imess  of  fancy  there  is  blended,   however,  a  genuine 
admiration  tor  the  character -imperfectly  as  he  appre- 
eiates  it_of  the   glorious  Personage  he   attempts  to 
describe.      Ihis    admiration    is   exhibited  in   such  lan- 
guage as  the  following: 

"This  confused  medley  of  visions  and  dreams,  this 
alternation  of  hopes  and  deceptions,  these  aspirations 
incessantly  trampled  <low,i  by  a  hateful  rcalitv,  at  len-th 
found  their  interpreter  in  the  incomparable  man  to  whom 


MIRACLES. 


il 


I 


A 


1G7 


i/ 


the  universal  conscience  has  decreed  the  title  of  Son  of 
God,  and  that  vvitli  justice,  since  lie  caused  religion  to 
take  a  step  in  advance,  incomparably  greater  thtm  any 
other  in  tiie  past,  and  probably  than  any  yet  to  come." 
(Close  of  Cliap.  I.) 

"Hillel,  fifty  years  before  Iiim,  liad  pronounced  apho- 
risms closely  anah)gous  to  his.  By  his  povertv,  endured 
witli  Jiuiiiihty,  by  the  sweetness  of  his  cliaracter,  by  the 
oi)I)osition  which  he  made  to  the  hypocrites  and  priests, 
Hillel  was  the  real   teacher  of  Jesus,  if  we  may  say 

teacher    when    speaking    of    so    lofty    an    originality." 
(Cliap.  111.) 

'■  In  his  great  soul  such  a  faith  (in  the  power  of  prayer) 
produced  effects  entirely  different  from  those  which  it 
produced  upon  the  multitude.  With  the  multitude 
faith  in  the  special  action  of  God  led  to  a  silly  credulity' 
and  to  the  deceptions  of  charlatans.  To  him  it  nave  'a 
deep  idea  of  the  familiar  relations  of  man  with" God 
and  an  exaggerated  faith  in  the  might  of  man  •  ad- 
mirable errors,  which  were  the  principle  of  his  power." 
(Chap.  III.) 

"Hillel,  however,  will  never  be  considered  the  real 
founder  of  Christianity.  The  palm  belongs  to  him  who 
lias  been  mighty  in  word  and  in  work,  who  has  felt  the 
truth,  and,  at  the  price  of  his  blood,  has  made  it  tri- 
umph. Jesus,  from  this  double  point  of  view,  is  with- 
out equal.  His  glory  remains  complete,  and  will  be 
renewed  forever."      (Chap.  V.,  close.) 

"AVhatever  may  be  the  surprises  of  the  future,  Jesus 
wil  never  be  surpassed.  His  worship  will  grow  youn- 
without  ceasing ;  his  legend  will  call  forth  tears  withou" 
end ;    his  sufferings  will  melt  the  noblest  hearts ;  all 


168 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


MIRACLES. 


169 


tfr 


ages  will  proclaim  that  among  the  sons  of  men  there  is 
none  born  greater  than  Jesus."     (Close  of  the  book.) 

From  the  reirard  for  the  character  of  Christ  which  is 
thus  expressed,  and  the  lively  fancy  which  fills  up  those 
blanks  in  the  Savior's  life,  which  occur  by  the  surrender 
of  the  miraculous  element,  it  has  resulted  that  this  book, 
though  in  some  sense  written  against  Christianity,  has 
in  another  point  of  view  aided  its  progress.  Persons 
have  read  Kenan  who  could  not  have  been  induced  to 
hear  or  to  read  the  work  of  a  professed  defender  of  the 
Gospel ;  and  they  have  thus  seen  in  the  character  of 
Christ  traits  of  divine  beauty.  Among  those  who  have 
thus  been  brought  to  reverence  Jesus,  some,  we  trust, 
have  learned  to  believe  on  him  as  their  Savior. 

M.  Kenan  disclaims  prejudging  the  miracles  of  Chris- 
tianity. He  disclaims  denying  the  possibility  of  mira- 
cles. "  We  do  not  say,"  he  remarks,  "  miracles  are 
impossible.  We  say,  there  has  been  hitherto  no  mira- 
cle proved."  (Introduction,  page  44,  of  Wilbour's  trans- 
lation.) Our  methods  of  investigation,  he  reminds  us, 
are  now  scientific.  If  a  miracle  were  now  asserted  to 
have  taken  place,  an  inquiry  would  be  made  into  it  by  a 
scientific  commission.  No  such  investigation  was  made, 
or  could  be  made,  in  regard  to  the  miracles  ascribed  to 
Jesus. 

To  this  argument  it  may  be  replied,  in  the  first  place, 
that  the  age  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles  was  not  as  ditfer- 
ent  from  our  own  as  is  here  alleged.  Careful  investi- 
gation was  not  then  impossible  ;  nay,  careful  and  even 
hostile  examination  was  then  actually  made.  Of  this, 
we  find  a  distinct  example  in  the  case  of  the  blind  man 
restored  to  sight,  as  described  in  the  ninth  chapter  of 


John.  The  national  council  of  the  Jews  examined  the 
man,  and  cross-examined  him.  They  heard  other  wit- 
nesses ;  they  summoned  his  parents  ;  they  exhorted  him 
to  confess  a  deception.  With  all  their  investigation  they 
could  i::ain  from  the  man  himself,  and  from  other  w^it- 
nesses,  no  different  account,  but  that  he  had  been  blind, 
and  had  received  from  Jesus  the  fjift  of  si^cht. 

Their  decision  au^ainst  Jesus  was  not  the  result  of 
their  examination,  but  of  predetermined  hostility,  occa- 
sioned by  the  attitude  in  whicli  Jesus  stood  towards 
themselves,  and  availing  itself,  probably,  in  this  instance 
as  in  others,  of  the  subterfuge  of  ascribing  the  cure  to 
the  power  of  evil  spirits.  If  it  be  said  that  we  have 
this  narrative  only  on  the  authority  of  a  w  riter,  who  is 
thought  by  many  not  to  have  been  an  eye-witness,  or 
even  contemporaneous,  we  reply,  that  doubt  on  this 
subject  has  only  arisen  from  an  unwillingness  to  receive 
miraculous  narratives  ;  that  the  Gospel  of  John  is  in 
fiict  better  authenticated  than  the  works  of  most  other 
historians  of  a  period  equally  distant,  and  that  Kenan 
himself  admits  it  to  be  genuine.  As  another  instance 
of  a  miracle  investigated  by  high  authority,  of  hostile 
disposition,  we  may  take  that  of  the  lame  man  cured  at 
the  gate  of  the  Temple  (Acts,  Chaps.  III.  and  IV.)  ; 
and  as  still  another,  and  more  important,  that  of  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead.  In  this  case  we 
have  the  story  told  by  the  Koman  guards,  — or  at  least, 
told  of  them  by  the  Jews,  — a  story  wdii'h  the  Christian 
historian  never  could  have  invented,  since  it  would  make 
against  himself  or  his  cause,  while  its  improbability  can 
be  seen  at  once  when  we  consider  the  despondency  of 
the  disciples  after  the  death  of  their  Master,  the  high, 


170 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


MIRACLES. 


171 


HI 


devoted,  and  truthful  spirit  whicli  they  always  exhibited, 
and  the  absence  of  any  motive  on  their  part  to  keep  up, 
after  his  crucifixion,  a  deception  which  could  only  expose 
them  to  persecution. 

Again,  while  the   miracles  of  Jesus  were  thus  well 
attested  in  the  age  in  which  they  occurred,  they  were 
not   isohited  occurrences,  but  connected  with  a  system, 
some  of  whose  elements  were  of  the  kind  that  are  not 
bounded  by  space  and  time.      To  the  moral  miracles  of 
Christianity  we  have   already  paid   some   attention,   in 
the  comparison  we  have  made  of  it  with  heathen  systems, 
and  with  the  best  efforts  of  the  human  mind  to  surpass 
it,  and  set  it  aside.     Other  moral  wonders  we  may  con- 
template in  the  marvellous  teaching  of  tiie  Jewish  na- 
tion, their  constant  expectation  of  a  Messiah,  and  their 
obvious  rejection  by  God's  providence,  after  they  had 
rejected  God's  appointed  Messenger.     Such  moral  mir- 
acles render  probable  the  introduction  of  material  mira- 
cles, for  they  indicate  a  divine  interposition  ;  they  show 
that   the  Ahnighty  recognized   an   object   of   sufficient 
importance  to  direct  to  its  attainment  his  course  of  prov- 
idential government.     If  tlien,  for  the  same  great  object, 
outward  miracles  were  needed,  the  same  divine  purpose 
would  be  carried  forward  by  bestowing  them. 

We  need  not  enter  into  the  details  of  M.  Kenan's 
survey  of  the  life  of  Jesus.  His  general  account  is 
that  inspired  by  the  teaching  of  nature,  the  traditions 
of  his  people,  and  his  own  wonderful  genius  ;  the  youno- 
carpenter  of  Nazareth  commenced  liis  work  of  the  re- 
generation of  his  country  and  of  mankind  in  a  cheerful 
spu-it ;  tliat  as  opposition  rose  and  increased,  he  became 
more  stern,  perhaps  more  ambitious,  and  less  true ;  that 


he,  in  some  instances  —  at  least  in  the  raisini;  of  Laz- 
arus  —  descended  to  share  in  deception  ;  —  that  when  he 
found  all  turning  against  him,  and  that  he  could  accom- 
plish his  work  in  no  other  way  but  by  his  death,  he 
jirepared  himself,  witli  true  greatness  of  soul,  for  that 
event,  and  gave  up  his  life  in  attestation  of  the  great 
doctrines  he  had  proclaimed.  Contrary  to  most  writers 
of  his  class  at  the  present  day,  Renan  admits  the  genu- 
ineness of  the  Gospel  of  John.  His  reasoning  on  this 
subject  is  of  importance,  and  will  be  considered  in  our 
view  of  the  question  to  which  it  relates.  Admitting 
this,  however,  he  is  obliged  to  account,  in  some  way, 
for  the  story  of  Lazarus.  The  mode  by  which  he  does 
this  is  extraordinary.  The  family  at  Bethany,  accord- 
ing to  him,  became  impatient  at  the  long  delay  of  Jesus 
in  asserting  his  claims.  To  urge  him  forward,  they  de- 
vised a  singular  fraud.  Lazarus,  who  had  been  sick, 
feigned  death,  and  his  sisters  mourned  for  him  with  all 
the  customary  signs  of  grief.  Jesus  came,  and  was  in- 
duced, by  their  urgency  and  expressions  of  firm  belief, 
to  make  trial  of  his  own  power  to  raise  the  dead ;  and 
at  his  word,  Lazarus  raised  himself  from  his  pretended 
lifelessness.  Jesus,  if  he  was  afterwards  convinced  that 
there  had  been  an  imposture,  yet  allowed  the  story  of 
his  miracle  to  pass  uncontradicted.  It  is  scarcely  need- 
ful to  point  out  tlie  objections  to  this  supposition.  It 
ascribes  to  the  family  at  Bethany  the  most  contradictory 
feelings  and  conduct.  They  revere  Jesus  as  the  wise 
and  holy  messenger  of  God,  yet  they  presume  upon  his 
ignorance  and  folly  to  [)lay  off  upon  him  a  most  shame- 
ful deception ;  to  excite  God's  Messiah  to  do  God's 
work,   they  commit  an  act  of  falsehood  and  impiety. 


172 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


He,  whom  tlicy  have  so  grossly  deceived  —  great  and 
good  Ilefbrmer  as  lie  is  —  neither  lakes  offence  at  their 
presumption,  with  regard  to  himself,  nor  at  its  violation 
of  the  honor  due  to  God,  but  quietly  permits  himself  to 
be  made  a  sharer  in  their  crime. 

We  have  seen  in  the  case  of  .'Strauss,  that  the  attempt 
to   reconstruct   Christianity,   by  removing  its    miracles, 
arose  from  the  principles  of  a  false  philosophy,  accord- 
ing to  which  miracles  were  impossible.     Thus  it  is  also 
with  Kenan,  and  the  fact  should  be  kept  in  mind  by  all 
who  are  in  danger  of  being   led   away   by  his  fanciful 
book.     The  contrast  of  Kenan's  whole  mode  of  thou^di 
and  style  of  principle  with  the  strict  simplicity  and  deep 
religious  feeling  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  has  been  well 
set  forth  by  Dr.  Beard,  of  England,  in  his  "Manual  of 
Christian  Evidence."      (London,  1808.)      For  our  own 
purpose,  two  extracts  from  Keujin's  writings  will  be  suf- 
ficient.    The  first,    by  its   loose   morality,    indicates   a 
deficiency  in  one  of  the  most  important    conditions  for 
ai)i)reciating  the  character  of  Jesus,  and  the  other  ex- 
hibits how  religiously  one  can  talk  who  disowns  religion  ; 
how  a  plain  question  can  be  answered  by  shroudino-  it 
in  a  mist  of  words,  and  how  the  existence  of  God  can 
be  denied  and  his  name  retained. 

"There  are  often  people,  like  clergymen,  riveted,  as 
it  were,  to  an  absolute  faith ;  but  even  among  them,  a 
noble  mind  rises  to  the  full  extent  of  the  issue.  A  worthy 
country  priest,  through  his  solitary  studies  and  the  sim- 
ple purity  of  his  life,  comes  to  a  knowledge  of  the  impos- 
sibilities of  literal  dogmatism  ;  and  nmst  he,  therefore, 
sadden  those  whom  he  formerly  consoled,  and  explain 
to  the  simple  folk  those  mental  processes  which  they  can- 


MIRACLES. 


173 


not  comprehend?  Heaven  forbid!  There  are  no  two 
men  in  the  world  whose  paths  of  duty  are  exactly  alike. 
The  excellent  Bishoj^  Colenso  showed  an  honesty,  which 
the  Church,  since  her  origin,  has  not  seen  surpassed,  in 
writing  out  his  doubts  as  they  occurred  to  him.  But 
the  humble  Catholic  priest,  surrounded  by  timid  and 
narrow-minded  souls,  must  be  quiet.  O,  how  many 
close-mouthed  tombs  about  our  village  churches  hide 
similar  poetic  reticence  and  angelic  silence  !  Do  those 
who  speak  when  duty  dictates,  equal,  after  all,  in  merit 
those  who  in  secret  cherish  and  restrain  the  doubts  known 
only  to  God?"  ("The  Apostles  :  *'  Carleton's  edition, 
page  51.) 

Perhaps  this  apology  for  hypocrisy  is  ironical.  We 
have  heard  such  language  before  ;  and  it  is  well  chosen 
to  weaken  the  influence  of  those  who  defend  Christian- 
ity, by  the  insinuation  that  they  do  not  themselves  be- 
lieve it.      Our  second  extract  is  as  follows  :  — 

"To  those  who,  planting  themselves  on  substance, 
ask  me,  '  Is  he,  or  is  he  not,  this  God  of  yours?'  Ah  I 
1  shall  reply,  God  !  It  is  he  that  is,  and  all  the  rest 
but  seems  to  be.  Granting  even  that  for  us  philoso- 
phers another  word  might  be  preferable  :  besides  the 
unfitness  of  abstract  words  to  express  clearly  enough 
real  existence,  there  would  be  an  immense  inconven- 
ience in  thus  cutting  ourselves  off  from  the  sources  of 
poetry  in  the  past,  and  in  separating  ourselves  by  our 
speech  from  the  simple  who  adore  so  well  in  their  way. 
The  word  God,  possessing  as  it  does  the  respect  of  hu- 
manity, the  word  having  been  long  sanctioned  by  it,  and 
having  been  employed  in  the  finest  poems,  to  abandon 
it  would  be  to  overturn  all  the  usages  of  language.    Tell 


174 


EVIDENCES  OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


AUTHENTICATION   OF   THE   RECORDS. 


175 


the  simple  to  live  a  life  of  aspiration  after  truth,  beauty, 
moral  goodness  —  the  words  would  convey  no  meaning 
to  them.     Tell  them  to  lo?®  God,  not  to  offend  God° 
they  will    understjind  you   wonderfully.     God,   Provi- 
dence, Inmiortality  !    good  old  words,  a  little  chunsy, 
perhaps,   which   philosophy  will  interpret   in  finer   and 
finer  senses,  but  which  it  will  never  fill  the  place  of  to 
advantage.     Under  one  form  or  another,  God  will  al- 
ways be  the  sum  of  our  supersensual  needs,  the  cate- 
gory of  the  ideal,  the  form,   that  is,   under  which  we 
conceive  the  ideal,  as  space  and  time  are  the  categories 
of  bodies,  that  is  to  say,  the  form  under  which  we  con- 
ceive of  bodies.      In  other  words,   man  placed  in  the 
presence  of  beautiful,  good,  or  true  things,  goes  out  of 
himself,  and,  caught  up  by  a  celestial  charm,  annihilates 
his  pitiful  personality,  is  exalted,  is  absorbed.     What  is 
that,  if  it  be  not  adoration?"     (Essay  on  Feuerbach 
and  the  New  Hegelian  school,  in  "Studies  in  Religious 
History  and  Criticism  ;  "  New  York  :  page  340.) 


CHAPTER  X. 
Authentication  of  the  Records. 

The  accounts  we  have  of  the  life  and  teachings  of 
Jesus  Christ  come  to  us  in  the  four  Gospels ;  and,  in 
addition  to  these,  there  are  other  documents,  some  con- 
nected with  previous  ages,  and  some  with  the  time  imme- 
diately after  that  of  Jesus,  the  whole  constituting  that 
volume  so  widelv  known  and  reverenced  as  "  The  Bible." 

Whence  does  this  volume  come  ?  and  how  do  we  know 
anything  of  the  age  and  authority  of  its  contents  ?  These 
are  questions  that  occur  to  thousands  of  minds,  and  in 
many  instances  never  receive  a  definite  and  correct  an- 
swer. How  do  I  know,  the  inquirer  may  continue,  that 
the  whole  collection  w^as  not  forged,  either  lately,  or  in 
a"-es  of  jxreater  darkness  than  the  present  ?  I  have  heard 
that  Luther  was  excited  to  those  studies  that  made  him 
a  reformer,  by  finding  a  Latin  Bible  in  the  convent 
library  ;   but   how  do  I  know  that  Luther  did  not  write 

it  himself? 

This  last  question  may  be  thought  too  absurd  for  any 
one  to  ask,  since  even  an  intelligent  child  would  soon 
think  of  the  answer,  that  the  Roman  Catholics,  who  hold 
Luther  in  abhorrence,  have  substantially  the  same  Bible 
as  the  Protestants.  This  answer,  obvious  as  it  is,  in- 
volves an  important  principle,  and  carries  us  far  back  into 
the  past,  with  sure  conviction  that  the  Scriptures  we 


c^ 


H 


176 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


[' 


reverence  existed  then.  The  principle  is  this,  that  if 
two  rival  sects  or  i)arties  agree  in  owning  the  authority 
of  the  same  work,  and  in  declaring  that  it  came  down 
to  them  from  before  their  division,  their  testimony  is  to 
this  extent  undoubtedly  true.  If  the  work  had  been 
written  by  either  party  after  their  separation,  their  rivals 
never  would  have  accepted  it  as  authority,  or  give  credit 
to  any  story  of  its  higher  antiquity. 

This  first  step,  then,  has  carried  us  back  beyond  the 
time  of  Luther,  showing  that  the  Bible  has  been  in  ex- 
istence more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  years.     A 
second  step  will  take  us  much  further.     Ask  any  one 
who  has  travelled  in  Greece  or  Russia  what  sacred  books 
are  reverenced  in  those  countries,  and  he  will  answer, 
with  surprise  at  your  question,  that  they  have  the  Bible, 
the  same  Scriptures  with  ourj^elvcs,  only  in  their  lan- 
guages instead  of  ours.     The  Greek  church,  to  which 
the  inhabitants  of  those  countries  belong,  ceased  to  have 
communion  with  the  Latin  or  Western  church  about  the 
year  1050.     Our  Scriptures  then  must  have  come  to  us 
from  a  higher  antiquity  than  the  date  of  this  separation. 
The   sect  of  Nestorians   became  separated  from  the 
Greek  church  about  the  year  430.     They  are  still  in 
existence ;  American  missionaries  have  had  friendly  in- 
tercourse with  them,  and  one  of  their  bishops  has  visited 
this  country.     They  hold,  and  have  ever  held,  the  same 
Scriptures  with  ourselves.     Those  Scriptures  then  must 
have  been  generally  received  at  the  date  thus  designated  ; 
and  to  be  thus  received,  as  the  authoritative  books  of  the 
religion,  they  must  have  come  down  from  a  still  more 
ancient  period. 

This  description  of  argument  can  be  extended  still 


AUTHENTICATION   OF   THE   RECORDS. 


177 


further  back,  with  regard  to  the  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, as  known  to  have  been  acknowledged  by  sects 
which  tlicn  divided  between  them  tlie  Christian  church. 
Thus  the  great  Arian  controversy,  which  arose  in  the 
year  317,  makes  it  certain  that  our  sacred  books  were 
received  by  all  parties  in  the  reign  of  Constantino  the 
Great,  the  first  Christian  emperor.  In  that  reign,  Eu- 
sebius,  Bishop  of  Ciesarea,  a  man  of  higli  distinction  in 
church  and  state,  wrote  an  Ecclesiastical  History.  The 
account  wliich  he  gave  of  the  Scriptures  will  claim  our 
attention  hereafter ;  at  present,  continuing  our  former 
method  of  argument,  we  find  in  the  controversies,  which 
divided  the  church  before  Constantino,  proof  of  the  gen- 
eral reception  of  the  sacred  books  at  a  very  early  period. 
We  may  have  occasion  to  follow  this  proof  out  more 
minutely  in  relation  to  some  particular  writings. 

With  regard  to  the  Old  Testament,  we  can  trace,  in 
the  same  way,  much  further  back ;  for  those  venerable 
Scriptures  are  held  in  reverence  by  the  Jews,  as  well  as 
by  Christians,  and  must,  therefore,  have  been  received 
as  genuine  and  authentic  before  the  rise  of  Christianity. 

To  go  back  still  further,  we  are  told  that  in  the  reign 
of  Josiah,  the  high-priest  found  the  Book  of  the  Law 
in  the  Temple,  and  that  the  king  read  therein,  with  an 
emotion,  which  gives  the  idea  that  he  then  saw  the  vol- 
ume for  the  first  time.*  From  this,  some  have  fancied 
that  Hilkiah,  the  high-priest,  did  not  find  the  Book  of 
the  Law,  but  forged  it ;  that  he  made  up  artfully  the 
five  books  ascribed  to  Moses,  2)artly  it  might  be,  from 
previousl}/  existing  documents,  but  partly  also  from  his 


*  2  Kings  xxii.  8-13. 


12 


178 


EVIDENCES   or  CHRISTIANITY. 


own  imni2;ination.  But  we  know,  that  in  tlie  time  of 
Josiali,  there  was  a  rival  branch  of  tlie  Hebrew  race, 
then,  indeed,  mostly  in  captivity  or  exile,  but  who  after- 
wards reapppeared  as  the  Samaritans  —  a  small  remnant 
of  whom  is  yet  in  existence.  Xotljinjz  would  have  in- 
duced  these  people  to  receive  as  genuine  a  volume  of 
the  Law,  forged  by  tlieir  ancient  rivals  ;  but  they  al- 
ways have  received  as  genuine,  and  as  possessing  the 
highest  authority,  copies  of  those  same  early  writings 
ascribed  to  Moses,  that  the  Jews  and  ourselves  read. 
This  fjxct  shows  us  that  the  book  found  in  the  days  of 
Josiah  was  no  forgery  of  that  age,  but  dated  back  to  a 
time  at  least  as  early  as  the  reii'n  of  Solomon  —  a  thou- 
sand  years  before  the  Christian  era. 

Such  is  the  testimony  afforded  by  varying  sects.  Thus, 
from  those  divisions  which  liave  often  been  regarded  as 
unmixed  evil,  has  Divine  Providence  brought  an  impor- 
tant argument  in  defence  of  revelation. 

But  suppose  our  doubter  should  inquire,  What  assur- 
ance have  I  that  what  I  have  been  told  is  true  re- 
specting ancient  sects,  controversies,  and  historians ; 
respecting  even  the  belief  of  men  at  this  day  in  other 
countries  than  my  own? 

To  relieve  his  doubts,  he  must  be  reminded  that  not 
only  a  general  reliance  on  the  truth  of  what  is  told  us 
is  the  foundation  of  all  intercourse  of  man  with  man  ; 
but  that  when  the  testimony  is  given  by  common  report 
to  statements  respecting  which  thousands  must  have 
been  informed,  and  when  that  evidence  is  all  one  way, 
without  being  contradicted  or  questioned  by  any  wit- 
ness, our  very  nature  compels  us  to  believe  it.  Thus, 
the  statement  that  the  Russians  are  of  the  Greek  church, 


AUTHENTICATION   OF   THE   RECORDS. 


179 


■■■^^F 


J 


and  that  they  yet  receive  the  same  Scriptures  with  our- 
selves, is  one  which,  if  false,  would  be  set  aside  by  the 
testimony  of  thousands.  It  may  be  received,  therefore, 
undoubtingly,  testified,  as  it  is,  by  common  fame.  So 
even  with  regard  to  events  in  the  history  of  ages  past ; 
if  they  are  such  as  must  have  been  notorious  at  the  time 
of  their  occurrence,  and  if  the  testimony  respecting  them 
be  all  favorable,  thev  are  entitled  to  our  belief.  Oiir 
reception  of  them  as  true  may  indeed  be  affected  by 
their  own  apparent  probability  or  improbability,  by  the 
number  of  the  witnesses,  and  other  considerations  ;  but 
it  is  safe  to  admit  the  truth  of  those  statements  which 
htive  been  handed  down  by  universal  consent,  respecting 
the  characters  and  conduct  of  distinguished  men. 

There  is  another  branch  of  the  evidence  on  wliich  we 
receive,  not  only  the  Scriptures,  but  the  literature  of 
ancient  times  in  general ;  this  consists  of  references  and 
quotations,  by  which  authors  testify  to  other  authors 
who  have  preceded  them. 

Sometimes  this  testimony  is  direct.  We  take  uj),  for 
instance,  the  biography  of  an  eminent  writer.  The 
author  of  the  biography  gives  an  account  of  the  works 
composed  by  the  subject  of  his  memoir.  If  we  take  u]) 
one  of  those  w^orks,  and  doubt  as  to  its  autliorship,  we 
are  reminded  of  this  direct  testimony  of  the  biograi)her, 
and  we  doubt  no  longer.  Or,  instead,  let  us  take  in 
hand  a  book  on  some  department  of  science.  We  find 
in  it  quotations  from  another  book  on  the  same  subject, 
giving  the  author's  name  as  well  as  repeating  his  words. 
AVe  turn  to  the  book  which  bears  the  name  of  the  author 
quoted,  and  we  find  the  quotation  there,  on  the  page  to 
which  reference  had  been  made.     The  genuineness  of 


180 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


that  book,  then,  is  testified  by  the  writer  who  quoted 
from  it.  By  thousiinds  of  such  references,  the  literature 
of  preceding  ages  is  linked  together;  and  he  who 
would  throw  doubt  on  the  general  reception  of  any 
ancient  author,  must  account  for  all  the  quotations  of 
his  works  from  their  date  to  the  present  time. 

An  instance  of  the  difficulty  of  such  a  task,  is  pre- 
sented by  the  effort  of  Father  Ilardouin,  a  learned  but 
fanciful  writer,  two  centuries  since,  to  dispute  the  gen- 
uineness of  many  classical  writings.      While  lie  admkted 
that  Virgil   wrote  the   Georgics,   he  asserted  that  the 
^Eneid  was  composed  by  monks  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, and  falsely  ascribed  to  Virgil.     If  such  an  absurd 
fancy  needed  argument  to  disprove  it,   the  references 
to  the  .Eneid  in   ancient  writers  would  be  sufficient. 
Omitting  Horace  and  others,  who  do  not  specify  the 
poems  of  Virgil  to  which  they  refer,  we  find  tlie  .Eneid 
mentioned  by  Propertius  and  Ovid,  contemporaries  of 
its  author,  and  by  Statins,  Juvenal,  and  :\Iartial  in  the 
next  century,   while   Silius,  Pliny  the  Elder,  Tacitus, 
and  Quintilian  speak  of  Virgil  in  a  manner  which  only 
the  existence  of  the  .Eneid  can  explain.     To  destroy 
the  credit  of  these  witnesses  would  require  the  erasure 
of  all  references  to  their  works,  as  well  as  to  the  .Eneid 
itself,  in  the  writings  of  subsequent  authors. 

Now  the  evidence  to  the  genuineness  of  the  four  Gos- 
pels from  quotations  and  references  in  later  writings, 
is  of  the  same  character  with  that  which  so  clearly  proves 
the  early  existence  of  the  .Eneid,  and  its  reception  as 
the  work  of  Virgil.  Not  to  dwell  needlessly  on  later 
writers,  there  is  a  vast  mass  of  Christian  literature,  con- 
sisting of  the  works  of  "the  Fathers,"  as  they  are  styled, 


AUTHENTICATION   OF   THE   RECORDS. 


181 


—  Christian  writers,  from  tlie  first  to  the  sixth  century. 
Among  these  writers,  the  more  recent  refer  to  the  more 
ancient ;  and  most  of  them  refer  to  the  Gospels,  and 
other  books  of  the  New  Testament.  Besides  the  Fa- 
thers, there  were  early  writers  who  Avere  regarded  by 
most  as  heretical,  and  heathen  writers  against  Christian- 
ity. Some  works  of  both  these  classes  remain ;  and 
others,  whicli  have  perished,  have  still  been  quoted  in 
such  a  mjuiner  by  those  of  the  Fathers  who  replied  to 
them,  that  we  can  gather  from  these  quotations  valuable 
references  to  the  Scriptures. 

The  evidence  of  these  early  writers  has  been  often 
brought  forward ;  with  great  fullness  in  the  celebrated 
work  of  Lardner,  and  more  briefly  by  Paley  and  otliers. 
It  is  condensed  in  our  "Manual"  (sections  12  to  15), 
after  careful  revision,  lest  any  witness  should  be  brought 
forward  of  whose  testimony  there  was  reasonable  doubt. 
In  dispensing,  after  such  examination,  with  the  evidence 
of  Barnabas,  Ignatius,  and  Hernias,  we  pronounced  no 
decision  agjiinst  the  genuineness  of  the  works  ascribed 
to  those  writers,  but  set  them  aside  as  still  in  contro- 
versy. For  our  present  purpose  we  will  examine  three 
of  the  earliest  witnesses,  each  in  connection  with  one  of 
the  next  <2:eneration ;  takinn^  thus  together  John  the 
Elder  —  if  not  the  Apostle  —  and  his  pupil  Papias, 
Poly  carp  and  his  pupil  Irentcus,  and  Justin  and  his 
pupil  Tatian. 

Papias  was  bishop  of  Hierapolis  in  Asia,  early  in  the 
second  century,  —  about  A.D.  116,  —  and  quotes  as 
his  authority,  ''  John  the  Presbyter,"  or  Elder.  As  this 
term  became  at  length  distinctly  attaclied  to  an  order  of 
church  officers,  many  have  supposed  that  it  was  applied 


182 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


AUTHENTICATION   OF   THE   RECORDS. 


183 


to  the  instructor  of  Papias  to  distinrruish  him  from  John 
the  Apostle.     It  is  evident,  however,  that  in  primitive 
times  the  terms  bishop  or  overseer,  presbyter,  and  even 
apostle,   were   used   much   more    looscJy  than   in    later 
ages.    (See  Acts  xx.  17,  2S  ;  xiv.  14.)  "^Peter  and  John 
are  called  Elders   (1    Peter  v.   1  ;  2  John   1;  3  John 
1),  the  latter  using  the  name  as  if  it  was  his  customary 
or  favorite  designation,  in  Epistles,  which  even  if  their 
genuineness  be  questioned,  at  least  mark  the  use  of  lan- 
guage in  the  early  age  of  Christianity ;  and  "  Elder  " 
would  have  been  the  worst  possible  designation  to  apply 
to  a  writer  for  the  purpose  of  distinguishing  him   from 
the  apostle  who  was  near  a  hundred   years  old.      We 
can  scarcely  doubt,  therefore,  that  Papias  was  a  disciple 
of  John  the  Apostle.     Even  if  otherwise,  his  teacher 
was  a  Christian   minister,  whose  earlier  life  had   been 
contemporaneous   with   those  evangelists  of  whom  he 
spoke.     His  account  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  Elder  said,  that  Mark,  being  the  interpreter  of 
Peter,  carefully  wrote  down  all  that  he  retained  in 
memory  of  the  actions  or  discourses  of  Christ;  not, 
however,  in  order,  for  he  was  not  himself  a  hearer  or 
follower  of  the  Lord ;  but  afterwards,  as  I  said,  a  com- 
panion of  Peter,  who  taught  in  the  manner  best  suited 
to  the  instruction  of  his  hearers,  without  giving  a  con- 
nected narrative  of  our  Lord's  discourses.  Such  being 
the  case,  Mark  committed  no  errors  in  thus  writinf>- 
some  things  from  memory;  for  he  made  it  his  soIq 
object,  not  to  omit  anything  which  he  had  heard,  and 
not  to  state  anything  fjilsely." 

Of  Matthew,  he  says,  "  Matthew  wrote  the  oracles  in 


■BlHi 


mmmm 


the  Hebrew  language,  and  every  one  interpreted  them 
as  he  was  able."  * 

This  distinct  testimony  of  Papias  is  strongly  sup- 
ported by  two  passages  in  the  E[)istles  of  Peter.  In 
the  first  E[)istle,  chapter  v.  13,  he  speaks  of  iNIark 
affectionately  as  his  son.  In  the  second  Epistle,  chap- 
ter i.  15,  he  says,  "  Moreover,  I  will  endeavor  that  ye 
may  be  able,  after  my  decease,  to  have  these  things  al- 
wavs  in  remembrance  ;  "  —  a  promise  which  received  its 
explanation  and  fulfilment  in  the  Gospel  which  this 
beloved  companion  wrote  from  his  dictation.  The 
"  undesigned  coincidence "  of  these  passages  in  three 
different  writings,  is  a  strong  proof  of  the  account  given 
by  Papias  ;  and  while  it  also  confirms  the  genuineness 
of  the  Epistles  of  Peter,  yet,  even  if  that  was  denied, 
it  would  still  prove  the  very  early  existence  of  a  belief 
in  the  church  that  Mark  stood  in  an  especially  near 
and  tender  relation  to  Peter,  and  that  that  Apostle  at 
least  contemplated  the  preparation  of  a  Gospel. 

Another  hearer  of  the  Apostle  John  was  Poly  carp, 
bishop  of  Smyrna,  respecting  whom  his  disciple  Irenteus 
bears  explicit  testimony.  "  I  can  tell  the  place,"  he 
says,  "  in  which  the  blessed  Poly  carp  sat  and  taught, 
and  how  he  related  his  conversation  with  John  and  oth- 
ers who  had  seen  the  Lord,  and  how  he  related  their 
sayings,  and  what  he  had  heard  concerning  the  Lord, 
both  concerninc:  his  miracles  and  his  doctrine,  as  he  had 
received  them  from  the  eye-witnesses  of  the  word  of  life  ; 
all  which  Polycarp  related  agreeably  to  the  Scriptures." 

In  this  account  of  the  testimony  of  this  venerable  man, 

»  Eusebius,  Eccl.  Hist.,  Lib.  III.,  ch.  39.     See  Norton's  Gen- 
uineness of  the  Gospels,  Vol.  I.,  p.  243. 


184 


EVIDENCES   OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


who,  at  eighty-six  years  of  age,  hiiJ  clown  Lis  life  as  a 
martyr  for  Christ,  the  mention  of  the  miracles  is  espe- 
cially worthy  of  notice,  as  showing  that  these  wonderful 
works  constituted,  in  the  minds  of  the  apostles  and  their 
companions,  an  inseparable  part  in  the  ministry  of  their 
Lord.  The  accounts  given  by  Polycarp  from  the  lij)s 
of  the  apostles  are  stated  also  to  have  been  "  agreeable 
to  the  Scriptures."  What  Irenajus  understood  by  "the 
Scriptures,"  is  perfectly  clear,  so  far  as  relates  to  the 
four  Gospels,  of  which  he  gives  a  distinct  account,  with 
the  names  of  their  authors,  and  the  order  in  which  they 
were  written.  Besides  his  testimony  respecting  his 
master,  we  have  numerous  references  to  the  Gospels  in 
an  Epistle  by  Polycarp  himself.  (See  "  Manual,"  sec- 
tion 13,  pages  42,  44.) 

We  have,  in  the  united  evidence  of  Justin  Martyr 
and  his  disciple  Tatian,  a  testimony  similar  in  character 
to  that  just  adduced.  Justin  was,  by  his  education, 
qualified  to  discriminate  among  writings  ;  and  by  the 
early  period  at  which  he  lived,  must  have  been  funiliar 
with  the  opinions  of  the  apostles  and  their  inunediate 
successors  ;  while  his  death  as  a  martyr  gives  to  us  the 
highest  assurance  of  his  sincerity.  In  his  writings,  still 
extant,  are  many  quotations  apparently  from  our  Gos- 
pels ;  and  his  account  of  incidents  respecting  Jesus,  is 
so  ample  as  to  aflord  nearly  a  complete  life  of  the  Savior, 
differing  but  in  two  unimportant  particulars  from  that 
given  by  the  evangelists.  *  He  does  not,  however,  refer 
to  our  Gospels  by  name,  but  speaks  of  them  under  the 
general  term  of  Memoirs  or  Recollections.  From  this 
circumstance,  some  authors  have  denied  that  our  Gos- 
pels were  known  to  him. 


AUTHENTICATION   OF  THE  RECORDS. 


185 


Justin  was  put  to  death  in  or  about  the  year  164. 
Shortly  after  his  death,  his  disciple  Tatian  published  an 
"Address  to  the  Greeks,"  or  Heathen,  vindicatino-  the 
faith  for  which  his  master  had  suifercd.     Tatian  after- 
wards expressed  some  opinions,  on  account  of  which  he 
has  been  regarded  as  a  heretic  by  later  waiters.     His 
heresy  seems  to  have  been,  in  its  origin,  merely  the 
respectable  one  of  over-strictness  in  self-restraint.     He 
is  considered  as  the  first  of  the  Encratites,  a  term  which 
may    be   literally   translated   Temperance   men.       His 
ascetic  views  either  led  him  into,  or  were  encouraged  by, 
the  Gnostic  doctrine  of  the  evil  of  matter.     Tatian  com- 
posed a  Diatessaron,  or  compend  of  Four  Gospels,  of 
which  Theodoret,  a  writer  two  hundred  years  later,  gives 
us  some  information.     He  found  the  book  in  use  in  his 
diocese,  and  removed  it,  because,  he  says,   Tatian  had 
cut  away  "  the  genealogies,  and   all  else  which   shows 
that  the  Lord  was  born  of  the  race  of  David  accordino- 
to  the  flesh."     Pie  testifies,  however,  that  the  book  was 
in  use   among  Catholic   Christians,  and  gives  no  hint 
that  the  four  Gos])els  which  it  abridged  were  any  other 
than  those  which  were  generally  received.     Indeed,  his 
mention  of  the  genealogies  which  had  been  cut  away, 
identifies  two  of  them  vv^ith  our  Matthew  and  Luke. 

Eichhorn  and  otliers  have  endeavored  to  maintain  that 
Tatian's  four  Gospels  were  diflerent  from  ours.  Their 
proof  is  from  a  passage  in  Epiphanius,  a  writer  of  the 
fourth  century,  who  says  that  some  call  Tatian's  com- 
pilation "  the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews."  As 
Matthew,  it  is  known,  wrote  in  Hebrew,  it  is  probable 
that  this  name  may  have  been  given  to  his  Gospel  as 


186 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


MANUSCRIPTS,   VERSIONS,  COINS,   MONUMENTS.      187 


employed  by  Tatian.*  But  the  evidence  is  so  ample 
shortly  after,  from  Irenajus,  Origen,  Tertullian,  and 
many  others,  to  the  general  use  of  our  Gospels  near  the 
end  of  the  second  century,  that  no  reasonable  doubt 
remains  of  their  identity  with  "  the  four  "  which  were 
em|)loyed  by  Tatian. 

We  have  then  this  writer,  a  man  whose  heresy  pro- 
ceeded from  an  over-punctilious  morality,  a  man  who 
had  the  Christian  courage  to  stand  forth  for  the  Gospel 
over  the  aprave  of  his  martyred  instructor,  bearinir  w'it- 
ness  for  our  four  Gospels,  as  tlie  true  records  of  the  life 
of  Christ.  He  was  the  pupil  of  Justin,  and  converted 
to  Christianity  by  him.  From  Justin,  then,  he  received 
his  knowled<j:e  of  the  books  in  use  amonij  Christians. 
If  Justin  had  not  known  and  approved  the  four  Gospels, 
Tatian  would  not  have  used  them.  If  Justin's  "  Me- 
moirs "  had  been  a  dilFerent  book,  Tatian  would  have 
used  that  also,  presenting  a  harmony  of  five  Gospels 
instead  of  four.  Justin's  profession  of  Christianity  was 
made  about  the  year  132.  Carefully  trained  in  philoso- 
phy, a  native  of  Palestine,  and  a  student  at  Alexandria, 
he  must  liave  known  what  books  were  held  by  his  new 
associates  to  be  authentic  records  of  their  faith.  Ilis 
authority,  then,  thus  strongly  inferred  from  that  of  his 
disciple  Tatian,  carries  our  four  Gospels  far  back  to- 
wards the  times  of  the  Apostles. 

♦  For  another  conjecture,  sec  Norton's  Genuineness,  Vol.  III., 
p.  279,  note. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
Manuscripts,  Versions,  Coins,  Monuments. 

\Ve  have  seen,  in  the  last  chapter,  something  of  the 
historical  and  traditional  proof,  on  which  we  receive  the 
sacred  writings,  and  especially  those  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. A  proof  of  a  difFcrent  description  is  furni^^hcd 
by  ancient  Manuscripts,  and  by  the  early  Versions  or 
Translations  of  the  Scriptures.  Our  belief  receives 
confirmation  also  from  existing  relics  of  the  past,  whetlier 
in  tlie  sliapc  of  coins,  or  of  more  massive  monuments. 

Of  course,  if  we  [)ossessed  the  original  manuscript  of 
any  work,  fully  certified  to  be  such,  its  evidence  would 
be  of  the  highest  value.  Tliis,  however,  is  not  the  case, 
either  with  regard  to  the  books  of  the  New  Testament, 
or  to  any  other  writing  of  that  distant  age.  But  there 
are  manuscripts  in  existence,  of  the  works  of  antiquity, 
whether  secular  or  sacred ;  manuscripts  in  great  num- 
bers, and  some  of  them  of  very  early  date. 

The  art  of  printing  was  discovered  about  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  Previous  to  that  time  copies 
of  books  were  multiplied  by  the  hand  alone.  We  should 
be  in  error  to  conclude,  however,  that  they  were  always 
excesssively  rare.  Copying  was  pursued  by  numbers 
as  a  regular  business  ;  by  others  as  an  occupation  for 
leisure  time.  After  the  general  reception  of  Christianity, 
the  copying  of  the  Scriptures  was  undertaken  by  many 


„\-. 


188 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


from  religious  motives ;  and  wealthy  and  even  imperial 
penmen  made  their  nianuscripts  splendid  with  coh)ring 
and  mldinjj.  Still  later,  the  monastic  life  S'^ve  to  its 
votaries  an  abundance  of  time,  which  was  employed  by 
numbers  of  them  in  preparing  copies  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  other  religious  books,  and  of  the  classical  authors. 

The  writing  and  dccii)hcring  of  manuscripts  present 
many  particulars  worthy  of  attention.  Nothing  perhaps 
is  more  curious  than  the  restoration  of  a  manuscript 
which  liad  been  partially  obliterated  to  make  way  for 
other  writing.  Parchment,  the  material  most  valued 
for  such  writing,  was  of  higli  price,  especially  in  the 
middle  aires,  wlien  tliere  were  few  who  understood  the 
method  of  i)reparing  it.  The  person  then,  who  desired 
to  copy  some  work  which  was  then  in  liigh  esteem,  would 
take  an  old  parchment  book,  and,  erasing  in  part  the 
letters  with  which  it  was  covered,  would  use  it  as  if  it 
were  new  materiiil.  But  in  process  of  time,  as  his 
writino-  lost  its  freshness,  that  which  he  had  tried  to  effiice 
would  attract  attention,  —  and  might,  by  chemical 
means,  be  entirely  restored.  Such  is  the  history  of  one 
of  the  most  valuable  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  "  Codex  Ephremi  Kescriptus,"  in  which  the  ancient 
letters  had  been  ineffectually  erased,  in  order  to  write 
upon  the  same  parchment  the  works  of  St.  Ei)hrem  the 
Syrian.  Such  a  manuscript  is  called  a  Palimpsest, 
"rubbed  again,"  from  the  Greek  nuAti-,  again,  and  y/cit.i, 
to  rub. 

The  comparative  value  of  manuscripts  of  the  same 
w^ork  depends,  of  course,  upon  their  antiquity.  The 
period  at  which  a  manuscript  was  written  can  be  deter- 
mined from  various  circumstances.     One  of  these  is  the 


MANUSCRIPTS,   VERSIONS,   COINS,   MONUMENTS.      189 


material,  the  oldest  in  existence  being  some  copies  of 
Pentateuch,  in  Hebrew,  on  rolls  of  crimson  leather, 
most  of  the  manuscri[)ts,  however,  wdiich  are  older  than 
the  sixth  century,  are  on  parchment.  The  inner  bark 
of  some  trees,  called  in  Latin  Llhei\  in  Greek  Blhlos, 
was  so  commonly  used  for  writing  on,  that  these  words 
came  to  have,  in  those  lanouan^es,  the  meaninir  of 
"  book."  Especially  the  fibrous  coating  of  the  Egyi)tian 
reed,  called  papf/rns,  from  which  the  word  paper  is  de- 
rived, supplied  the  principal  material  for  books  from 
very  early  times  till  the  seventh  or  eighth  century,  when 
paper  made  of  cotton  began  to  take  its  place. 

Another  circumstance  indicatins:  the  aixe  of  manu- 
scripts  is  the  method  of  writing ;  the  older  ones  being 
written  upright,  —  or  in  the  way  commonly  called 
"  printing  with  the  pen,"  —  and  all  in  capitals,  or  "  uncial 
letters,"  without  division  of  words,  or  marks  of  punctu- 
ation or  accent.  A  knowledge  of  the  period  when  suc- 
cessive changes  began  to  ai)pcar,  will,  therefore,  in  most 
instances,  enable  the  accomplished  scholar  to  decide  on 
the  age  of  the  manuscript  before  him. 

In  many  instances  the  copyist  has  himself  dated  his 
manuscript ;  in  others,  marginal  notes,  by  a  later,  but 
still  ancient  hand,  fix  their  own  date  by  some  allusion 
to  contemporaneous  persons  or  events,  and  thus  show 
the  still  older  origin  of  the  manuscript  they  illustrate. 

In  these  and  other  w^ays  the  age  of  these  interesting 
relics  can,  with  considerable  accuracy,  be  determined. 
The  number  of  them  known  to  be  in  existence  is  very 
large,  and  additions  are  constantly  made  to  it  by  dis- 
coveries in  old  libraries,  and  especially  in  the  monasteries 
of  the  East.     In  those  monasteries,  these  ancient  treas- 


190 


EVIDENCES  OF    CHRISTIANITY. 


ures  have  hccii  kept  for  centuries,  safer  perhaps  tlirough 
the  very  superstition  and  ignorance  of  their  guanlians, 
than  if  thev  had  been  freely  used  hy  them,  or  parted 
with  to  others.  Some,  however,  have  been  brought 
from  these  hidiug-phices  none  too  early.  In  one  instance 
"a  learned  traveller,  mentioned  by  Mr.  C'urzon,  in  in- 
quiring for  inaaascripts,  was  told  that  there  were  none 
in  the  monastery ;  but  when  he  entered  the  choir,  to  be 
present  at  the  service,  he  saw  a  double  row  of  long- 
bearded  holy  fathers,  shouting  the  Kyric  elcison,  and 
each  of  them  standing,  to  save  his  bare  legs  from  the 
dam[)  of  the  mary©  floor,  upon  a  great  folio  volume, 
which  liad  been  removed  from  the  conventual  library, 
and  applied  to  pur[>oses  of  practical  utility  in  the  way 
here  mentioned.  These  volumes,  some  of  them  highly 
valuable,  this  traveller  was  allowed  to  carry  away  with 
him,  ill  exchange  fur  some  footstools  or  hassocks,  which 
he  presented  to  the  monks."  * 

In  one  of  the  monasteries  in  Kgypt,  Archdeacon  Tat- 
tam  found  the  lloor  of  a  vault  covered  with  manuscri[»ts 
and  fra'nnents  of  books,  einht  inches  deep,  which  had 
lain  there,  apparently,  many  years.  From  these  he  was 
able  to  purchase  three  hundred  and  seventeen  books,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  in  Syriae,  Aramaic,  or  Coptic,  wliich, 
with  many  similar  treasures,  are  now  in  the  British 
JVIuseum.f 

In  the  work  from  which  these  facts  are  derived,  it  is 
stated  (page  5)  "that  the  integrity  of  the  records  of 
the  Christian  faith  is  substantiated  by  evidence  in  a  ten- 
fold proportion  more  various,  copious,  and  conclusive 

*  History  of  the  Tninsniission  of  Ancient  Books,  by  Uixac  Taylor, 
page  234. 

t  Idem.,  page  250. 


MANUSCRIPTS,   VERSIONS,    COINS,   MONUMENTS.      191 


than  that  which  can  be  adduced  in  support  of  any  other 
ancient  writings."  That  this  statement  is  correct  with 
regard  to  manuscripts  will  be  evident  from  a  comparison 
elsewhere  made.  (Pages  180,  181.)  Of  the  history 
of  Herodotus,  there  are  fifteen  manuscrij)ts  known,  of 
which  several  arc  not  older  than  the  middle  of  the  fif- 
teenth century.  Of  the  Greek  Testament,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  nearly  five  hundred  ancient  manuscripts  have 
been  exnmined.  If  the  more  recent  ones  are  included, 
the  whole  nund)er  of  manuscripts  of  the  Gospels,  or 
portions  of  them,  was  stated  some  years  since  at  six 
hundred  and  seventy. 

With  regard  to  the  antiquity  of  manuscripts,  the  same 
author  states  as  follows  :  — 

"A  Virgil,  in  the  Vatican,  claims  an  antiquity  as  high 
as  the  fourth  century  ;  there  arc  a  few  similar  instances  ; 
but  generally  the  existing  copies  of  the  classics  arc  at- 
tributed to  periods  between  the  tenth  and  fifteenth  cen- 
turies. In  this  respect,  the  Scriptures  are  by  no  means 
inferior  to  the  classics.  There  arc  extant  copies  of  the 
Pentateuch,  which,  on  no  slight  grounds,  arc  supposed  to 
have  been  written  in  the  second  or  the  third  century  ;  and 
there  are  copies  of  the  Gospels,  belonging  to  the  third 
or  the  fourth,  and  several  of  the  entire  New  Testament 
which  unquestionably  were  made  before  the  eighth." 

Nor  have  these  copies  been  found  in  one  locality  alone. 
Among  the  most  ancient  of  them,  for  instance,  the 
Alexandrian  manuscript,  was  from  the  city  in  Egypt 
whose  name  it  bears  ;  having  been  brought  thence  to 
Constantinople  by  the  patriarch  Cyril,  who  afterwards 
presented  it  to  Charles  I.  of  England.  The  Codex 
Bezie,  on   the   other   hand,  was  said  by  the  reformer 


192 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Beza  to  have  been  found  in  the  monastery  of  St.  Ire- 
nanis,  at  Lyons,  in  France  ;  and  the  recentlv  discovered 
Sinaitic  manuscript  was  procured  by  Professor  Tischen- 
tlorf,  on  behalf  of  the  Kussian  government,  from  the 
monastery  on  Mount  Sinai,  in  Arabia.  These  instances 
show  the  wide  diffusion  of  the  sacred  writings,  rendering 
it  more  difficult  to  conceive  liow  any  forged  documen't 
could  have  been  received  into  general  circulation  as  a 
part  of  lioly  Scripture. 

We  have  spoken  in  the  "Manual"  (page  52),  of  the 
early   versions   of   the  Xew  Testament.  "^  To  i/lustrate 
their  value,  we  will  take  a  single  instance.     Among  the 
manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum,  of  which  weliave 
already  spoken,  rescued  by  Dr.   Tattam  from  an  Egyp- 
tian vault.  Dr.   Cureton  discovered  a  copy  made  in  the 
fifth  century,  of  a  translation  of  the  Gospels  into  Syriac, 
of  still  higher  antiquity.     There  is  a  well  known  Syriac 
version,  called  the  Peshito  (plain  or  literal),  which  has 
long  been  considered  the  oldest ;  but  this  is  older  still. 
In    various    places    this    version    has    been    altered    to 
make  it  conform  to  the  Peshito ;  the  older  translation 
being  corrected  by  that  which  was  more  recent,  and  sup- 
posed therefore  to  be  more  accurate.     Other  considera- 
tions unite  in  fixing  the  date  of  this  ''  Curetonian  Syriac 
version"    in   the    second  century.     Our  four  Gospels, 
therefore,  not  only  existed  at  that  time,  but  they  were 
then  so  highly  valued  that  men  would  undertake  the  labor 
of  translating  them  into  other  languao-es.* 

The  support  given  to  the  authority  of  ancient  books 

*  Remains  of  a  very  ancient  Kccension  of  the  Four  Gospels  in 
Syriac,  &c.,  by  William  Cureton,  D.  D.,  F.  K.  S.  London,  1858. 
rrelace,  pa^^es  i.,  iv.,  btviii. 


i 


MANUSCRIPTS,   VERSIONS,    COINS,  MONUMENTS.       193 


by  features  of  nature  and  monuments  of  art,  deserves 
more  lengthened  mention  than  the  plan  of  this  work 
permits.  Of  the  features  of  nature,  we  find  that  the 
geography  of  Palestine  agrees  with  the  statements  made 
respecting  it  in  the  Bible  so  fully,  as  to  extort  an  expres- 
sion of  delighted  acquiescence,  even  from  Renan.  He 
says,  — 

"  The  scientific  commission  for  the  exploration  of  an- 
cient Phoenicia,  of  which  I  was  the  director  in  1860  and 
1861,  led  me  to  reside  on  the  frontiers  of  Galilee,  and 
to  traverse  it  frequently.  I  have  travelled  through  the 
evangelical  province  in  every  direction ;  I  have  visited 
Jerusalem,  Hebron,  and  Samaria;  scarcely  any  local- 
ity important  in  the  history  of  Jesus  has  escaped  me. 
All  this  history,  which,  at  a  distance,  seems  floating  in 
the  clouds  of  an  unreal  world,  thus  assumed  a  body,  a 
solidity,  which  astonished  me.  The  striking  accord  of 
the  texts  and  the  places,  the  wonderful  harmony  of  the 
evangelical  ideal  with  the  landscape,  which  served  as  its 
setting,  were  to  me  as  a  revelation.  I  had  before  my 
eyes  a  fifth  gospel,  torn  but  still  legible,  and  thence- 
forth, through  the  narratives  of  Matthew  and  Mark, 
instead  of  an  abstract  being,  which  one  would  say  had 
never  existed,  I  saw  a  wonderful  human  form  live  and 
move."  * 

Among  the  monuments  of  art,  we  find  in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  remarkable  confirmation  of  what  the  Old 
Testament  tells  us  of  its  history.  Mr.  Taylor,  in  the 
last  chapter  of  the  work  already  quoted,  gives  a  vivid 
description  of  the  various  fortunes  of  this  city,  which 

*  Life  of  Jesus.     Introduction,  page  45. 

13 


194 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


has  been  continuously  inhabited  for  three  thousand 
years ;  refers  to  the  accounts  in  the  books  of  Kings 
and  Chronicles,  and  still  more  to  the  incidental  allu- 
sions in  the  Prophets,  which  imply  the  might  of  the 
ancient  Jewish  empire,  and  the  wealth  and  luxury  of 
its  capital ;  and  compares  with  this  the  results  attained 
by  recent  excavation  in  the  long-trodden  streets  of  Je- 
rusalem;  summing  up  his  argument  in  the  followiun- 
words  :  — 

"Here,  then,  the  two  portions  of  an  inferential  argu- 
ment come  into  contact ;  and  it  is  just  at  the  basement 
line  of  the  palaces  and  the  mansions  of  the  ancient  Je- 
rusalem that  they  do  so.      The  juncture  is  of  this  sort  : 
we  hold  in  our  hand  the  various  literature  of  an  ancient 
people  ;  this  literature  has  traversed  the  fields  of  time  in 
those  several  modes  of  conveyance  to  which,  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages,  we  have  given  attention  ;  it  has  thus  come 
into  our  hands  safely;  it  stands  attested  in  modes  so 
many  and  so  sure,  that  now  to  speak  of  it  as  if  it  were 
questionable,  would  be  a  mere  prudery  and  an  affecta- 
tion.    Up  and  down  throughout  these  writin^rs  we  find 
incidental  notices  of  the  sumptuous  style  of  the  upper 
classes  of  the  people  in  their  modes  of  living,  and  in 
the  decoration  of  their  public  and  private  buildings ;  at 
least  it  is  so  as  to  what  were  the  visible  parts  of  such 
structures.     The  kings  and  the  nobles  of  the  Hebrew 
monarchy  were   men  of  great  wealth ;  ample  revenues 
were  at  their  command,  and  they  spent  their  incomes 
magnificently.     Looking  to  the  documents  —  the  parch- 
ment rolls  —  the  volumes  of  the  prophets  of  those  ages, 
such  are  the  inferences  we  must  derive  from  them. 
''But  what  objects  are  those  that  present  themselves 


MANUSCRIPTS,   VERSIONS,   COINS,   MONUMENTS.       195 

when,  with  the  pick  in  hand,  we  go  down  to  the  levels 
of  the  ancient  Jerusalem?  What  we  there  find  are 
courses  of  highly-wrought  masonry,  with  which,  as  to 
the  dimensions  of  the  single  blocks,  and  the  labor  that 
has  been  bestowed  upon  them,  nothing  can  be  com- 
pared, unless  it  be  in  Egyi)t,  and  at  Palmyra.  The 
inference  is  valid,  namely,  that  the  people  of  this  city, 
—  even  those  whose  structures,  sacred  and  domestic,  un- 
derlie the  monuments  of  eight  or  nine  successive  empires 
or  kingdoms, — the  primeval  people  must  have  been 
wealthy,  and  far  advanced  in  the  arts,  and  large  also 
in  their  conceptions,  and  bold  in  their  enterprises.  They 
were  a  people  great  and  well  civilized,  and  they  were  so  at 
a  time  when,  as  the  Greek  historian  tells  us,  the  ances- 
tors of  his  nation  were  petty  marauders  by  sea  and  land, 
and  were  feeding  upon  acorns  !  " 

In  a  similar  manner  are  the  Biblical  accounts  con- 
firmed by  what  is  known  of  other  ancient  cities,  —  those 
of  Egypt  on  the  one  side,  with  Nineveh  and  Babylon  on 
the  other ;  the  recent  explorations,  which  have  brought 
to  light  the  palaces,  statues,  and  inscriptions  of  former 
days,  adding  continually  new  details  of  agreement  to  the 
testimony  already  afforded  by  them  to  the  truth  of  the 
early  Scripture  history.  Light  is  shed  upon  the  faith, 
the  patience,  the  sufierings,  and  the  success  of  the  early 
disciples  by  the  Catacombs  of  Eome,  —  those  vast  cav- 
erns beneath  the  city,  from  which  stone  was  formerly 
taken  for  its  buildings,  and  which  were  used  by  the  per- 
secuted Christians  as  places  of  assembly,  and  also  as 
places  of  burial.     The  inscriptions  they  cut  in  those 

*  Transmission  of  Ancient  Documents ;  near  the  end 


iij       ■  I*        mail 


196 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


rocks,  where  the  remains  of  their  martyrs  were  depos- 
ited, still  bear  witness  to  the  faith  that  animated  them, 
to  the  persecutions  to  which  that  faith  subjected  them, 
and  to  the  patient,  loving,  and  trusting  spirit  with  which 
those  persecutions  were  endured. 

Not  the  least  curious  of  the  ancient  monuments  in  the 
illustration  they  afford  are  the  coins  that  are  found  scat- 
tered far  and  wide  throughout  the  world.  The  testi- 
mony which  these  bear  to  the  truth  of  history  may  be 
exemplified  by  one  which  is  before  us  as  we  write.  It 
bears  on  one  side  a  head,  with  the  inscription,  "Louis 
XVI.,  Koi  des  Fran(jois," — not,  according  to  the  old  style 
of  territorial  sovereignty,  "Koi  de  France,"  —  with  the 
date  1791.  On  the  other  side  appears  an  angel  writ- 
ing on  a  tablet,  with  the  inscriptions  "liogne  de  la  Loi," 
and  "L'An  1  de  la  Liberte."  How  strikingly  does  this 
confirm  what  history  tells  us  of  that  brief  period  in  the 
French  Revolution,  when  the  royal  authority,  though 
greatly  circumscribed,  was  still  acknowledged !  The 
Jewish  coins  extant  arc  of  the  age  of  the  Maccabees, 
and  chiefly  of  tlie  time  of  Simon,  the  high-priest,  about  a 
century  and  a  half  before  Christ ;  they  bear  emblems 
of  religious  service,  such  as  sacrificial  cups,  censers, 
and  a  sprig  supposed  to  represent  Aaron's  rod.  Some 
remarkable  illustrations  by  ancient  coins,  of  the  accu- 
racy of  the  book  of  Acts,  are  mentioned  in  the  "Man- 
ual," section  15,  page  53. 

But  all  these  sources  of  illustration  yield  in  impor- 
tance to  that  which  is  given  by  the  influence  of  the  Gos- 
pel on  human  society.  The  institutions  of  our  own  age, 
and,  if  we  have  any  faith  in  history,  the  institutions  of 
ages  past,  for  at  least  fifteen  hundred  years,  have  been 


MANUSCRIPTS,   VERSIONS,   COINS,  MONUMENTS.       197 

founded  upon  Christianity,  and  testify  to  their  origin. 
Not  only  has  the  cross  been  emblazoned  on  banners,  but 
it  has  been  deeply  impressed  on  the  minds,  the  charac- 
ters, and  the  customs  of  princes  and  of  people.     The 
power  which  even  now,  in  its  comparative  weakness,  is 
strong  enough  to  delay  the  progress  alike  of  popular 
revolution  and  of  scientific  advancement,  and  which,  in 
the  middle  ages,  spread  over  all  Europe  a  shade  at  once 
darkening  and  protecting,  —  the  power  of  the  Papacy, 
—  different  as  it  is  from  what  enlightened  Christianity 
would  sanction,  still  shows,  like  a  deformed  child  of 
giant  parentage,  tlie  greatness  of  the  source  from  which 
it  sprung.    Civilization  cannot  indeed  be  traced  to  Chris- 
tianity exclusively  ;  but  those  institutions  that  mark  the 
humanity  of   modern  times,  the  hospital,  the  common 
school,  nay,  the  monastery,  which   gave  protection   to 
the  weak  and  the  oppressed  in  a  darker  age,  —  these  are 
the  monuments  of  Christianity.     The  changes  made  in 
the  habits  and  usages  of  men  attest  its  power :  the  more 
lenient  treatment  of  criminals,  of  prisoners,  and  of  debt- 
ors ;  the  softening  of  the   customs  of  war ;  the  better 
ai)preciation   of    the   poor,  and   more    humane   conduct 
towards  them ;  and  the  thrice-won  victory  over  slavery, 
abolished,  as  we  have  already  pointed  out,  in  its  classi- 
cal, its  feudal,  and  its  American  forms,  — all  these  are 
but  portions  of  the  marks  impressed  deeply  on  the  his- 
tory and  the  condition  of  mankind,  of  that  great  blessing 
which  God  gave  the  world,  eighteen  centuries  since,  in 
the  cominc:  of  the  Son  of  Man. 


■■p 


108 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
The  FinsT  Tiiiiee  Gospels. 

Ix  judicial  investigation,  reliance  is  justly  placed  on 
the  account  that  is  supported  by  the  testimony  of  several 
persons.  One  witness  may  be  himself  deceived,  or  may 
intend  to  deceive  others.  With  each  additional  one  the 
probability  of  such  mistake  or  falsehood  is  diminished, 
and  that  not  merely  in  simple  proportion  to  the  number 
of  those  who  testify.  If  they  are  independent  of  each 
other,  so  that  thev  cannot  contrive  between  them  what 
story  they  shall  relate,  their  agreement  upon  the  same 
account  affords  a  proof  of  its  truth,  much  greater  than 
the  sum  of  their  se[)arate  assertions. 

The  absence  of  concert  between  witnesses  may  be 
proved  by  various  circumstances.  If  they  tell  precisely 
the  same  story,  incident  for  incident,  and  word  for 
word,  their  close  agreement,  instead  of  establishing 
their  truth,  suggests  a  suspicion  that  they  have  com- 
bined to  deceive  ;  but  if  they  give  substantially  the  same 
account,  with  those  slight  variations  that  might  be  ex- 
pected to  result  from  different  degrees  of  attention,  or 
different  habits  of  thought,  their  narrative  appears  more 
natural,  and  is  more  probably  true. 

These  remarks  on  evidence  are  applicable  to  the  first 
four  books  of  the  New  Testament,  known  as  the  Gos- 
pels of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John.     The  antiq- 


THE   FIRST   THREE   GOSPELS. 


199 


uity  of  these  records  is,  as  we  have  already  seen,  vouched 
for  by  a  succession  of  writers,  reaching  back  from  our 
own  *day  to  near  the  very  time  when  they  were  com- 
posed.    We  have,  then,  for  the  truth  of  the  things  re- 
corded of  our  Savior,  the  evidence,  in  the  first  place,  of 
several  witnesses,  and  these  witnesses  the  persons  best 
qualified  to  give  information  ;  two  of  them  being  the 
Apostles  Matthew  and  John ;  and  the  other  two  being 
companions  of  the  Apostles,  and  deriving  from  them 
principally  the  testimony  which  they  have  transmitted. 
Let  it  be  supposed,  however,  that  we  knew  not  who 
these  writers  were ;  that  the  account  given  by  Irenfcus, 
instead  of  being  confirmed  by  other  writers,  was  contro- 
verted by  them,  or  that  we  possessed  only  these  four 
Gospels,  with  no  statement  at  all  how  they  came  into 
existence.     Let  us  apply  to  the  four  unknown  witnesses, 
as  they  would  be  in  that  case,  the  remarks  already  made 
respecting  the  rules  of  evidence. 

We  should,  even  in  that  case,  have  four  distinct  and 
independent  witnesses,  agreeing  on  a  history,  in  all 
important  particulars,  one  and  the  same.  They  are 
independent  witnesses,  for  they  differ  from  each  other 
in  matters  of  detail,  as  people  never  would  differ  who 
had  concerted  their  story.  Not  one  of  them  has  copied 
his  account  from  the  others,  for  there  is  not  one  of  them 
who  has  not  told  us  some  things  peculiar  to  himself. 
Yet  thougli  independent,  they  harmonize  in  their  ac- 
counts. The  picture  of  the  Savior,  presented  by  them 
all,  is  the  same ;  and  it  is  a  representation  such  as  no 
other  writer  ever  conceived.  His  meekness,  his  benefi- 
cence, his  miraculous  power,  his  figurative  mode  of 
instruction,  his  rejection  by  the  Jews,  his  betrayal,  con- 


200 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


dcmnation,  death,  .ind  resurrection,  are  essentially  the 
saiDC)  in  the  acjconntw  of  all.  This  story,  then,  which 
they  comhine  in  telling,  must  he  suhstantially  true.  It 
would  he  a  nnra(^le  more  inercdihle  than  any  that  they 
record,  that  four  independent  witnesses  should  each 
nivent  a  tissue  of  falsehood,  and  that  all  their  falsehoods 
should  agree. 

The  agreements  and  diiFcrcnccs  among  the  Gospels 
recpiire,  however,  an  examination  somewhat  more  mi- 
nute. 

The  agreement  is  gn^atest  among  the  first  three  Gos- 
pels;  whicii,  for  this  reason,  are  often  designated  as  the 
8yno[)tic  Gospels.  Much  of  the  ac(;ount  is  the  same  in 
all  the  three  ;  sometimes  in  the  very  same  words,  some- 
times onlv  a  word  or  two  in  the  sentences  of  one  heing 
different  from  those  of  the  others.  And  yet,  elsewhere, 
the  three  vary  greatly.  Each,  as  has  heen  said,  tells 
us  some  things  which  the  others  do  not  mention.  Thus 
Matthew  alone  tells  of  the  flight  of  Josei)h  and  Mary 
into  Egy[)t,  and  the  massacre  of  the  innocents  hy  Herod  ; 
and  alone  gives  us  an  cxtc^nded  and  consecutive  recital 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Luke  alone  relates  the 
incidents  attending  the  birth  of  John  the  Baptist,  the 
parables  of  the  Prodigal  Son,  and  of  the  (iood  Samar- 
itan, and  the  display  of  the  Savior's  mercy  on  the  cross 
to  the  penitent  thief;  and  Mark,  the  writer  of  the  short- 
est Gosi)el,  has  a  number  of  brief  and  graphic  touches, 
peculiar  to  himself.  This  singular  agreement  of  the 
three  synoptic  gospels,  in  great  part  blent  with  difter- 
cnces  quite  as  singular,  presents  one  of  the  most  curious 
problems  for  critical  ingenuity  to  explain.  They  are 
too  unlike  to  have  been  copied  from  each  other;  yet 


\ 


THE    FIIIST   THREE   GOSPELS. 


201 


*  1 


i  \ 


I 


how  else  could  they,  in  so  many  cases,  closely  resemble 
each  other,  not  only  in  sentences,  but  in  [laragraphs  of 
considc*ral)le  h^nglh? 

In  view  of  tliis  difliculty,  diflcrent  theories  have  been 
ado[)t(;(l,   agHM-ing   in    this,   that   one   evangelist   copied 
from  another;   but  it  has  be(;n  hard  to  dcterminci  which 
was  the  original.      Wcmssc;,  in  l^S.'JS,  followed  by  Wilke 
and  Iiruno  Bauer,  advocated  the  idea  that  tin;  others  bor- 
rowed from  Mark.      Of  that  short  (iospcl,  only  twenty- 
seven   v(;rses   are    not  contained   in   either   Matthew   or 
Luke,      it    was    therefore    supposed    that   the    original 
Mark  (L'r-Markus,   in   (ierman)  did   not  contain  these 
twenty-seven    verses,   biit   that  they   w(ire  added  after- 
wards in  some  copies,  while  larger  additions  in  others 
formed   the    Gosi)el    we   call    Miitthew's,   and  additions 
still  dillcrent  gave  us  that  which  we  call  Luke's.      Un- 
fortun.itely    for    this    theory,    however,    these    verses, 
though  so  few,  are  of  that  kind  that  bear  most  distinctly 
the  stamp   of  authenticity.      Among  them   are   several 
which  contain  Hebrew  or  Syriac  words,  —  "Boanerges 
(iii.     17),    "Talitha    cunii"     (v.    41),    "Kphphatha 
(vii.    34),   and   "Abba"    (xiv.    30).      We  can  easily 
conceive   that  one    im[)ressed   with   the   dignity   of  the 
Savior's  bearing,  or  with  the  wonders  which  he  wrought, 
should  have  the  very  words  he  uttered  so  stamped  upon 
his   memory,   that   in   telling   the    story   afterwards    he 
should  repeat  them  in    the  original  language  ;   but  no 
one  would  be  likely  to  retouch  a  story  already  plainly 
told,  by  adding  to  it  an  unintelligible  word.     Another 
passage,  in  relating  the  cure  of  a  blind   man,  gives  his 
singular    expression,   "I    see    men  as    trees   walking" 
(viii.  24)  ;  another  repeats  the  conversation  of  Jesus 


» 


»» 


M 


202 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


f 


THE   FIRST  THREE  GOSPELS. 


203 


with  the  father  of  tlie  epileptic  youth,  who  seems  at  first 
to  have  doubted  the  Savior's  power,  but  at  length  burst 
forth  with  the  touching  words,  "  Lord,  I  believe  ;  help 
thou  my  unbelief."  (ix.  24.)  Elsewhere  we  read  the 
singular  incident  of  the  youth  who,  at  the  arrest  of 
Jesus,  escaped  from  the  soldiers  by  leaving  in  their 
hands  the  sheet  in  which  he  had  hastily  wrapped  him- 
self, (xiv.  51,  52.)  Who  can  imagine  that  these 
vivid  touches  of  nature  were  later  additions?  Such 
additions  generally  mark  themselves  by  an  interruption 
of  the  narrative  into  which  they  are  unskilfully  inserted  ; 
but  such  is  not  the  case  here.  The  "original  Mark," 
then,  must  have  contained  these  passages  ;  and  if  so,  it 
is  highly  improbable  that  the  other  evangelists  would 
have  omitted  them  in  copying. 

The  theory,  therefore,  appears  untenable  tliat  supposes 
the  other  synoptical  Gospels  to  be  derived  in  any  degree 
from  that  of  Mark.  Even  if,  however,  it  were  accepted, 
to  the  extent  necessary  to  account  for  the  resemblances 
between  the  three,  we  must  still  recognize  the  other 
portions  of  Matthew  and  Luke  as  equally  authentic. 
Their  own  merit  answers  for  them.  The  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  as  told  by  Matthew,  the  parables  of  the 
Prodigal  Son  and  of  tlie  Kich  ]Man  and  the  Beggar,  as 
related  by  Luke,  were  no  additions  from  an  inferior 
Bource,  but  bear  the  impress  of  the  great  original  mind 
which  even  those  who  deny  his  divine  commission  must 
recognize  in  the  Founder  of  Christianity. 

If' the  conception  of  Mark's  Gospel  as  the  source  of 
the  other  two  cannot  be  sustained,  still  less  can  there 
be  any  probability  in  a  similar  conjecture  respecting 
either  of  the  others.     If  Matthew  is  thought  to  have 


W 


been  the  original,  we  have  to  account  for  the  parables 
in  Luke ;  if  Luke  be  preferred,  we  must  find  an  origin 
for  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  in  Matthew.     In  either 
case,  Mark  presents  a  difficulty;  for  though  we  may 
easily  conceive  of  one  writing  an  abridgment  of  the  other 
Gospels,  it  cannot  be  explained  how,  in  such  a  case,  he 
should  have  added  those  touches  of  nature  which  have 
already  been  mentioned.     The  Tubingen  school,  there- 
fore, under  the  lead  of  Dr.  F.  C.  Baur,  have  advocated 
an  explanation  the  farthest  possible  from  that  already 
spoken  of.     According  to  them,  our  Gospels  were  not 
the  oldest.     There  was  a  Gospel  of  the  Hebrews ;  an- 
other, of  the  Egyptians ;    another,  of  Peter ;  and  an- 
other, of  the  Ebionites  or  Nazarenes.     These  probably 
were  much  the  same.     The  "  Memoirs  of  the  Apostles  " 
{unouvrtfiovEiiiaiu) ,  mentioned  by  Justin,  constituted  still 
another.     From  one  or  more  of  these  various  sources 
our  evangelists  borrowed,  Matthew  writing  first,  Luke 
afterwards,  and  Mark  last.     Thus  where  their  accounts 
are  similar,  they  copied  from  the  same  original ;  where 
they  differ,  they  had  different  authorities.     To  this  it  is 
to  be  added  that  the  writers,  except  perhaps  INIatthew, 
had  each  his  particular  purpose  ;  —  for  "  Tendency  **  is 
the  idol  of  the  Tiibingen  school.      Matthew's  Gospel 
was,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  in  the  interest  of 
Peter  and  the  Jewish  Christians  ;  Luke's  in  that  of  Paul 
and   his    Gentile   converts;    while    Mark   exliibits    an 
endeavor  to  reconcile  differences. 

According  to  this  theory,  the  Synoptical  Gospels  are 
none  of  them  original  documents,  nor  do  they  come 
from  the  immediate  age  of  the  Apostles.  Why,  or  how 
the  much  more  valuable  original  Gospels  should  have 


ii 


204 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


been  lost,  and  their  memory  have  so  nearly  perished  that 
their  existence  can  only  be  uncertainly  conjectured,  we 
are  not  informed,  nor  is  it  easy  to  conceive.     The  names 
given  to  these  supposed  Gospels  occur,  indeed,  in  early 
writers ;  but  it  seems  probable  that  the  Gospel  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  that  of  the  Ebionites,  were  our  present 
Gospel  of  Matthew,  which  is  known  to  have  been  first 
written  in  Hebrew ;  while  the  Gospel  of  Peter  was  no 
other  than  that  of  Mark,  written,    as  Papias  and  Ire- 
naeus  inform  us,  from  the  instructions  of  that  Apostle. 
The  "  Memoirs"  mentioned  by  Justin,  we  have  already 
seen,  by  comparing  his  testimony  with  that  of  his  pupil 
Tatian,  must  have  been  our  present  Gospels ;  and  these 
also,  with  perhaps  some   other  attempts  at  evangelical 
composition,  were  those  alluded  to  by  Luke  in  his  pref- 
ace.    There  was,  indeed,  a  "  Gospel  according  to  the 
Egyptians  "  in  existence  towards  the  end  of  the  second 
century ;  but  the  fact  that  it  was  not  then  received  into 
the  canon  presents  strong  evidence  against  its  claim  to 
original  authority.     The  theory  of  Baur  has  been  greatly 
modified  by  his  later  followers.     Of  these,  Hilgenfeld 
admits  the  date  of  Matthew's  Gospel  in  its  original  form 
(l>r-Matthcneus,)  between  A.  D.  50  and  GO ;  and  of  its 
revised  edition  between  70  and  80.     Kostlin  places  our 
Matthew  not  far  from  70.     IVIark  is  dated  by  Hilgen- 
feld, from  80  to  100;  and  Luke,  by  Hilgenfeld  and 
Kostlin,  from  100  to  110.* 

The  explanation  offered  by  Professor  Norton,  of  the 
resemblances  and  differences  of  the  first  three  Gospels, 
appears  to  us  still  the  best ;  and  we  give  it  as  we  re- 

*  See  Schwarz,  Zur  Geschichte  der  Neuesten  Theologie,  pages 
191,  192. 


THE   FIRST  THREE   GOSPELS. 


205 


li 


ceived  it  forty  years  since  from  that  revered  instructor, 
by  whom  it  was  afterwards  embodied  in  his  great  work 
on  the  Genuineness  of  the  Gospels.    (Vol.  I.,  Note  D., 
pa-es  c-ccvi.)     In  the  preaching  of  the  Apostles  and 
others  to  the  early  church,  the  incidents  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  must  have  borne  a  part,  prominent  beyond  any 
other  subject,  and  beyond  what  even  that  has  been  in 
any  subsequent  age.     What  the  converts  chiefly  wanted 
to  know  of  their  teachers  was,  what  the  IMaster  had  done, 
and  tau-ht,  and  suffered.     And  this  narrative  was  not 
only  the^most  interesting  in  itself,  but  it  was  what  those 
early  teachers  were  most  competent  to  tell.     They  were 
not  philosophers,  carefully  trained  to  pronounce  disqui- 
sitions on  points  of  morals  ;  they  were  plain  men,  most 
natural   and   most  successful   in  their  addresses  when 
they  told  a  plain  story,  of  which  their  memory  and  their 
heart  were  alike  full.     Telling  this  story  often,  in  each 
other's  presence,  their  accounts  of  it  assumed  more  and 
more  a   similar   and    a    permanent   character.     When 
Matthew  and  Mark  and  Luke  undertook,  independently 
of  each  other,  to  record  what  they  knew  of  the  life  of 
Jesus,  they  had  probably  no  documents  before  them, 
but  they  had   strongly  impressed   on   their   memories 
those  incidents  of  their  Master's  life  which  they  had 
heard  related  a  thousand  times,  and  the  very  words  m 
which  those  incidents  had  long  been  customarily  told. 
They  took  these  incidents,  they  took  those  very  words, 
from  this  generally  received  account  among  Christians, 
and  each  added  such  further  particulars  as  he  had  been 
able  to  learn.     Thus  it  happened  that  in  so  many  pas- 
sages their  accounts  appear  precisely  the  same,  while  m 


20(5 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


others  each  evangelist  gives  us  circumstances  which  no 
one  else  relates. 

On  this  theory,  and  even  pn  the  supposition  that 
fragmentary  notes  of  our  Savior's  life  and  teachings  had 
been  used  first  by  one  evangelist  and  afterwards  by 
another,  we  have  still,  on  the  whole,  three  separate  and 
independent  witnesses.  Even  on  the  theory  of  Baur 
we  have  as  many,  only  that  the  original  witnesses  are 
lost,  and  we  receive  their  testimony  at  second  hand. 
In  either  case,  therefore,  we  have  tlie  life  of  Jesus,  as 
reported  to  us  by  more  than  one  of  those  who  heard  his 
voice,  and  beheld  his  wondcrftd  works.  To  these  is 
to  be  added  the  Fourth  Gospel,  —  ascribed  by  the  voice 
of  antiquity,  as  we  believe  correctly,  to  the  Apostle 
John.  The  ground  on  which  we  receive  it  as  his  work, 
will  be  our  next  subject  of  inquiry. 


THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


207 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  FouiiTii  Gospel. 

TiiEKE  are  few  questions  now  presented  for  the  ex- 
amination of  theologians,  of  more  pressing  interest  than 
that  of  the  authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.     If  that 
professed  account  of  the  life  of  Jesus  was  not  the  work 
of  the  Apostle   John,  but  of  some  unknown  writer  in 
the  middle  of  the  second  century,  —  if,  instead  of  re- 
cording fxcts  that  actually  occurred,  and  discourses  that 
were  actually  given,  this  writer  derived  his  narrative 
from  his  own  imagination,  —  and  if  in  all  this  he  had 
an  especial  purpose  in  view,  coinciding  with  a  tendency 
then  existing  to  alter  and  corrupt  the  faith  which  Jesus 
had  introduced,  then  must  we  change  our  ideas  of  our 
Master  and  of  his  religion  in  respects  far  more  impor- 
tant than  any  that  are  recognized  by  the  understanding 
alone.     We   might   consent   to  part  with  the  subHme 
declaration  of  the  Golden  Proem,  identifying  the  Savior 
as  the  incarnate  Wisdom  of  God ;  —  but  what  could 
compensate  us  for  his  parting  words  of  love  to  his  disci- 
pies  ?     We  might  give  up  our  belief  that  he  spoke  the 
command,  "Lazarus,  come  forth;"  but  how  could  we 
resigathat  brief  text,  "Jesus  wept"?   Christianity,  with- 
out the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  would  still  be  the  world's 
richest  treasure ;  a  king,  without  his  crown,  is  still  a 
king ;  but  the  faithful  subject  would  not  part  with  the 


II 

^3 


1"  °iil 


206 


EVIDEx\CES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


Others  each  evangelist  gives  us  circumstances  which  no 
one  else  relates. 

On  this  theory,  and  even  pn  the  supposition  that 
fragmentary  notes  of  our  Savior's  life  and  teachings  had 
been  used  first  by  one  evangelist  and  afterwards  by 
another,  we  have  still,  on  the  whole,  three  separate  and 
independent  witnesses.  Even  on  the  theory  of  Baur 
we  have  as  many,  only  that  the  original  witnesses  are 
lost,  and  we  receive  their  testimony  at  second  hand. 
In  either  case,  therefore,  we  have  tlie  life  of  Jesus,  as 
reported  to  us  by  more  than  one  of  those  who  heard  his 
voice,  and  beheld  his  wonderful  works.  To  these  is 
to  be  added  the  Fourth  Gospel,  —  ascribed  by  the  voice 
of  antiquity,  as  we  believe  correctly,  to  the  Apostle 
John.  The  ground  on  which  we  receive  it  as  his  work, 
will  be  our  next  subject  of  inquiry. 


THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


207 


'  1 1 


\ 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Fouhtii  Gospel. 

There  are  few  questions  now  presented  for  the  ex- 
amination of  theologians,  of  more  pressing  interest  than 
that  of  the  authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.     If  that 
professed  account  of  the  life  of  Jesus  was  not  the  work 
of  the  Apostle  John,  but  of  some  unknown  writer  in 
the  middle  of  the  second  century,  —  if,  instead  of  re- 
cordino-  facts  that  actually  occurred,  and  discourses  that 
were  actually  given,  this  writer  derived  his  narrative 
from  his  own  imagination,  —  and  if  in  all  this  he  had 
an  especial  purpose  in  view,  coinciding  with  a  tendency 
then  existing  to  alter  and  corrupt  the  faith  which  Jesus 
had  introduced,  then  must  we  change  our  ideas  of  our 
Master  and  of  his  religion  in  respects  far  more  impor- 
tant than  any  that  are  recognized  by  the  understanding 
alone.     We   might    consent   to  part  with  the   sublime 
declaration  of  the  Golden  Proem,  identifying  the  Savior 
as  the  incarnate  Wisdom  of  God ;  —  but  what  could 
compensate  us  for  his  parting  words  of  love  to  his  disci- 
ples ?     We  might  give  up  our  belief  that  he  spoke  the 
command,  "Lazarus,  come  forth;"  but  how  could  we 
resiga  that  brief  text,  "Jesus  wept "  ?    Christianity,  with- 
out the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  would  still  be  the  world's 
richest  treasure ;  a  king,  without  his  crown,  is  still  a 
king ;  but  the  faithful  subject  would  not  part  with  the 


n 


208 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


diadem ;  nor  would  we  willingly  spare  from  the  glories 
of  our  Redeemer  the  Gospel  in  which  he  speaks  to  us, 
in  the  most  spiritual,  and  the  most  loving  tones. 

But  this  prejudice,  if  so  we  are  to  call  it,  must  not 
make  us  refuse  to  follow  the  guidance  of  truth.  It 
will  have,  however,  its  legitimate  weight,  if  it  only 
counterbalances  other  prejudices,  —  that  which  influences 
many  minds  in  favor  of  novelty,  —  and  that  with  which, 
deeply  impressed  with  the  depth  of  German  learning, 
the  student  ima^^ines  that  the  most  darin^j  criticism  of 
Germany  must  be  right  in  its  conclusions. 

In  considering  the  claim  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  to  be 
the  genuine  work  of  the  Apostle  John,  we  are  struck, 
in  the  first  place,  with  the  very  recent  origin  of  any 
doubt  upon  the  subject.  In  the  early  catalogues,  those 
of  Irenaeus,  the  fragment  found  by  Muratori,  and  Euse- 
bius,  the  book  is  named  among  those  which  were  re- 
ceived without  question ;  and  from  those  early  days  to 
near  the  present  century,  no  author  expressed  a  doubt 
upon  the  subject,  those  writers  of  course  excepted,  who, 
directly  attacking  Christianity,  threw  aspersions  indis- 
criminately upon  all  its  records.  Evanson,  in  1792,  first 
stated  a  doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Gospel.  He 
was  followed  by  Bretschneider  in  1820.  Some  writers 
endeavored  to  show  that  two  different  pens  were  em- 
ployed upon  the  book ;  but  their  arguments  were  fully 
set  at  rest  by  Baur,  who  pointed  out  the  unity  of  the 
book  in  style  and  purpose.  His  theory  was,  "that  the 
book  was  written  at  the  earliest  about  the  year  160,  in 
the  midst  of  the  Gnostic,  Montanistic,  and  Quart odcci- 
man  controversies  ;  and  that  it  had  a  strong  connection 
with  those  movements,  not  roughly  rejecting  on  either 


THE   FOURTH   GOSPEL. 


209 


I' 


side,  but  also  not  mediating  by  weak  compliance ;  but 
80  that  all  the  different  currents  should  appear  carried 
back  upon  a  higher  standpoint,  and  connected  in  a  higher 
unity.  On  this  account  has  it  found,  even  from  its 
presentation,  the  most  general  assent." 

The  tempting,  but  unreliable  character  of  Dr.  Baur's 
mode  of  reasoning,  may  be  illustrated  by  the  supposition 
that  some  foreign  writer  should  hereafter  undertake  to 
write  the  history  of  the  United  States,  and  finding  that 
misunderstandings  had  arisen  in  the  present  century  be- 
'  tween  the  different  sections,  which  resulted  at  length  in 
civil  war,  should  maintain  that  the  document  known  as 
"Washington's  Farewell  Address"  must  be  a  forgery, 
palmed  upon  the  world  by  some  benevolent  deceiver, 
about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  for  the  sake 
of  composing  these  sectional  differences  by  the  influence 
of  a  great  name. 

Of  the  high  estimate  formed  by  this  great  writer  of 
the  intellectual  and  spiritual  worth  of  the  Gospel  which 
he  thus  attempts  to  invalidate,  and  of  the  reason  which 
prompted  that  attempt,  he  has  left  a  remarkable  testi- 
mony in  the  following  passage  :  — 

"A  Gospel  which,  since  it  came  forth  into  the  light 
from  the  darkness  of  its  origin,  has  obtained  in  the 
Christian  consciousness  of  all  centuries  such  an  expres- 
sive testimony  of  its  genuine  evangelical  spirit,  can  lose 
nothing  of  its  value  by  all  the  results  of  historical  criti- 
cism ;  it  still  remains  the  only  tender  and  right  Gospel 
(das  einzige  zarte  rechte  Evangelium),  which  stands 
above  all  others,  and  distinguishes  itself  above  them  in 
a  peculiar  manner.  Criticism  cannot,  indeed,  without 
entanslinff  itself  in  inextricable  self-contradiction,  ever 

14 


*  "I 


/ 


210 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


admit  that  it  is  the  work  of  the  Apostle  John  ;  but  the 
creative  spirit  which  produced  it  from  itself  is  the  same, 
whether  tha  individual  who  was  the  subject  of  this  spirit 
may  have  been  called  thus  or  otherwise."  * 

While  we  receive  with  pleasure  the  strong  testimony 
here  "-iven  to  the  value  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  we  can- 
not  but  notice  the  reason  assigned  for  denymg  to  it  an 
apostolic  origin.  Criticism  requires  it,  in  order  to  avoid 
a  self-contradiction.  Knowing  what  criticism  means 
with  Baur,  —  that  it  involves  speculation,  theory,  and 
especially  a  decision  upon  writings  with  reference  to  ■ 
their  supposed  tendency  as  determining  their  age  and 
authorship,  we  perceive  that  in  his  judgment  the  gen- 
uineness of  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  rejected,  not  for  want 
of  proof,  but  from  considerations  anterior  to  the  discus- 
sion of  its  evidence. 

That  evidence,  so  far  as  it  is  external,  we  have  already, 
to  some  extent,  surveyed  in  our  "Manual"  (pages  40, 
41),  in  the  lists  of  sacred  books  given  by  Eusebius,  the 
Muratorian  fragment,  and  Irenaius.  The  testimony  of 
the  last  is  of  especial  importance  in  the  present  ease,  as 
he  had  been  the  pui)il  of  a  pupil  of  John.  Polycarp, 
in  instructing  Irena^us  in  the  Christian  faith,  must  have 
referred  to  his  own  venerated  instructor  more  frequently 
than  to  any  other  ;  and  if  he  had  never  spoken  of  John's 
having  written  a  Gospel,  Irena?us  would  not  afterwards 
readily  have  been  convinced  that  such  was  the  case. 

We  can,  however,  go  back  beyond  the  time  of  Ire- 
naius.  Justin,  who  suffered  martyrdom,  A.  D.  164, 
though  he  does  not  name  this  Gospel,  nor  any  other,  has 
such  references  as  assure  us  of  its  existence  and  recep- 

♦  Baur  in  Theol.  JahrbOcher,  1844,  page  698. 


■/ 


THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


211 


tion  in  his  time.  He  speaks  of  "  the  Word  having  been 
made  flesh ; "  represents  the  Baptist  as  saying  "  I  am 
not  the  Christ ;  "  and  refers,  in  three  instances,  to  words 
of  Jesus  which  we  find  only  in  the  Fourth  Gospel.* 

Papias,  as  we  have  seen,  while  vouching  for  the  Gos- 
pels of  jNlatthew  and  Mark,  makes  no  mention  of  the 
others.     We    have,   however,    already    seen  reason  to 
identify  his  instructor,  "  John  the  Elder,"  with  the  Apostle 
John.     We  can  perceive  then,  why,  in  relating   what 
this  Elder  had   told  him   respecting  other  Gospels,  he 
should    make   no    mention  of  John's.     That   was   the 
Elder's  own  work,  known  as  such  to  Papias,  and  to  all 
the  Christians  around ;  its  origin  was  no  longer  to  be 
accounted  for ;  but  respecting  those  which  Matthew  and 
Mark  had  written,  the  information  which  Papias  treas- 
ured up  and  imparted  was  new  and  interesting.     This 
state  of  the  case  agrees  entirely  with  what  is  evident 
from  the  inspection  of  the  Gospels,  as  well  as  from  the 
account  of  Irena3us,  that  the  other  Gospels  were  known 
to  John,  and  that  his  was  written  in  part  with  the  object 
of  supplying  their  deficiencies.     In  the  times  of  Irena^us, 
and  afterwards,  the  evidence  is  abundant,  and  receives 
great  strength,  from  the  very  distant  sections  of  the 
church  which  the  witnesses  represent.     Irenajus  himself, 
as  we  have  seen,  testifies  alike  for  the  East  where  he 
was  educated,  and  for  the  AVest  where  he  presided  in 
the  church.     The  canon  of  Muratori  gives  the  opinion 
of  the  Italian  churches  ;  its  early  date  is  shown  by  its 
reference  to  the  Roman  bishop,  Pius  (A.D.  142  to  157), 
with  the   words   "most  recently,   in    our    own  times" 
(nuperrime,  temporibus  nostris).      Tertullian   at  Car- 

*  Norton's  Genuineness,  &c.,  Vol.  X.  p.  232. 


Hi 


212 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


thage,  and  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  Origen  in  Egypt, 
unire  to  give  us  the  general  assurance  of  the  widely- 
spread  church  in  the  beginning  of  the  third  century. 
Ori^en  declares  that  our  four  Gospels  ''  are  the  only 
ones  received  without  controversy  in  the  whole  church 
of  God  which  is  under  heaven."  This  list  of  witnesses 
from  Asia  Minor,  Gaul,  Rome,  Carthage,  and  Egypt, 
is  confirmed  by  the  Peshito,  and  the^probably  stdl  more 
ancient  Curetonian,  Syriac  versions.* 

Some  other  witnesses  arc  deserving  of  mention. 
Polycrates,  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  in  19G,  quotes  from  the 
Gospel  of  John  the  statement  that  the  apostle  whose 
name  it  bears  "  leaned  upon  the  Lord's  breast."  "  Even 
Hil-enfeld,  one  of  the  most  forward  of  the  Tubingen 
critFcs,  does  not  longer  deny  that  the  expression  is  drawn 
by  Polycrates  from  John  xiii.  25."  f  ^^e  shall  see 
hereafter  the  importance  of  this  testimony.   . 

Theophilus  of  Antioch,  in  his  letter  to  Autolycus, 
written  in  181,  designates  John  as  one  of  the  "  bearers  of 
the  Spirit"  {n.fvuar6.fonoc),  and  refers  to  the  beginnmg 
of  his  Gospel.  The  same  author  brought  out  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  four  Gospels,  the  number  specified 
being  a  proof  that  they  were  those  which  we  possess. 

Omitting  the  quotations  by  Athenagoras,  about  A.  D. 
177  and  Apollinaris,  Bishop  of  Ilierapolis,  about  A.  D. 
170!  we  come  to  Tatian,  the  disciple  of  Justin  MartyT, 
whose  verification  of  the  four  Gospels  has  already  been 
mentioned.  Of  the  four,  from  which  he  composed  his 
Diatessaron,  that  of  John  was  one,  accordmg  to  the 

♦  Kiggenbach.    Die  Zcugnisse  fUr  das  Evangelium  Johannis. 
t  Essays   on  the   Supernatural   Origin  of   ChnsUanity,  by  Pro- 
fessor George  P.  Fisher,  of  Yale  College. 


THE   FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


213 


express  admission  of  Volkmar,  one  of  the  latest  defenders 
of  the  theory  of  Baur.  In  his  "  Address  to  the  Greeks  " 
also,  of  earlier  date  than  the  Diatessaron  (or  about  A.  D. 
165),  Tatian  quotes  repeatedly  from  John's  Gospel. 
As  we  have  already  pointed  out,  the  connection  of  this 
author  with  his  instructor  Justin,  gives  to  his  use  of  our 
present  Gospels  something  of  the  authority  of  the  pre- 
ceding generation. 

It  may  be  asked.  Were  there  none  who  early  disputed 
the  authority  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  ?     Candor  compels 
us  to   admit   that  there  were ;  yet,  as  "  the  exception 
proves  the  rule,"  the  presence  of  a  few  obscure  oppo- 
nents renders  more  distinct  the  consent  of  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  church.     The  first  notice  of  any  who  denied 
the  authority  of  John's  Gospel  is  by  Irenajus.     That 
early  Father  has  the  following  words,  preserved  to  us 
only  in  a  Latin  translation  (3,11,9):    "But  others,  to 
frustrate  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  which,  in  most  recent 
times,  has  been  poured  forth  upon  the  human  race  ac- 
cording to   the  will  of  the  Father,  do  not  admit  that 
form  which  is  according  to  the  Gospel  of  John,  in  which 
the  Lord  promised  to  send  the  Paraclete ;  but  they  re- 
ject together  the  Gospel  and  the  prophetic  spirit.     Un- 
happy, truly,  who  indeed  choose  to   be  false   prophets 
themselves,  but  repel  the  grace  of  prophecy  from  the 
church ;  suffering  like  those,  who,  on  account  of  per- 
sons that  come  in  hypocrisy,   abstain  themselves  also 
from   the   communion   of    the   brethren."*      Without 


*  it 


Alii  vero,  ut  donum  spiritCis  frustrentur,  quod  in  novissimis 
teraporibus  secundum  placitum  Patris  effusum  est  in  humanum  ge- 
nus, illam  speciem  non  admittunt,  quae  est  secundum  Joannis  evan- 
geliura,  in  qua  Paracletum  se  missurum  Dominus  promisit.     Sed 


214 


EVIDENCES   QF  CnRISTIANITY. 


pausing  to  seek  an  explanation  of  all  the  obscurities  of 
this  passage,  it  is  sufficient  to  remark,  that  the  persons 
mentioned  in  it  appear  to  have  rejected  or  undervalued 
John's  Gospel,  not  from  doubt  respecting  its  origin,  but 
because  of  their  dislike  to  something  it  contained.  It 
was  thought  to  favor  some  views  respecting  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  they  considered  fanatical.  But  notwith- 
standing their  rejection,  Irenaius,  who,  through  his  in- 
structor^ Polycarp,  had  the  best  means  of  information, 
and  with  him  the  Christian  Church  in  general  at  his 
early  day,  acknowledged  with  reverence  the  Gospel  ac- 
cording to  St.  John. 

Two  later  writers,  Philastrius  (IL-cr.  60)  and  Epi- 
phanius  (IIa?r.  51),  relate  that  these  persons  also  re- 
jected the  Apocalypse,  ascribing  both  works  to  the 
heretic  Cerinthus.  Their  opinion  was  prompted  by 
dislike  of  Montanism.  Epiphanius  marked  them  with 
the  name  of  Alogi,  bearing  the  two  meanings  of  "  reject- 
ers of  the  Logos  "  and  "  unreasonable."  *  Excepting 
this  obscure  sect,  there  are  found  no  early  opponents  of 
this  Gospel ;  for  the  fact  that  the  Ebionites  used  only 
the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews,  which  was  prob- 
ably the  same  as  Matthew's,  does  not  testify  against  the 
genuineness  of  that  ascribed  to  John.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  the  exclusive  use  of  Mark  by  some  of  the 
Doceta?,  and  of  a  mutilated  copy  of  Luke  by  Marcion. 
Various  heretical  leaders  had  each  his  chosen  document, 

simul  et  evangclium  et  proplieticum  repellunt  spiritum.  Infelices 
vere,  qui  pseiuloprophctae  quidcni  esse  volunt,  propheticam  vero 
gratiam  repellunt  ab  eeclesia,  siniilia  patientes  his,  qui  propter  eos, 
qui  in  hypocrisi  veniunt,  etiam  a  fratrum  comraunione  sc  abstiaent." 
♦  Kiygeubach. 


THE   FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


215 


m 


' 


preferred  apparently  for  sectarian  reasons,  but  they  do 
not  appear  to  have  borne  witness  against  the  apostolic 
orio-in  of  the  writings  which  they  did  not  use.  Those 
writings  come  to  us  on  the  testimony,  not  of  any  ex- 
ceptional class,  but  of  the  great  body  of  Christian  be- 
lievers throughout  the  civilized  world. 

Turnino-  from  the  strictly  external  evidence  to  that 
which  is  internal,  we  in  the  first  place  notice  the  lan- 
o-iiage.  According  to  Ewald,  a  most  competent  judge, 
in  no  writer  of  the  New  Testament  is  there  a  language 
that  in  spirit  and  in  utterance  has  more  the  ring  of  the 
true  Hebrew.  The  formation  of  abrupt  sentences  in- 
stead of  orderly  sequence,  the  frequent  omission  of  con- 
necting particles,  and  the  prevalence  of  "and"  and 
'*  then,"  answering  the  Hebrew  copulative  conjunction, 
are  features  of  this  character. 

The  very  difference  between  this  Gospel  and  the  other 
three,  which  seems  an  argument  against  it,  furnishes, 
when  more  closely  examined,  proof  of  its  authenticity. 
It  fits  in  with  the  Synoptical  Gospels,  furnishing  what 
they  do  not  give.  The  repeated  visits  to  Jerusalem,  of 
which  John  alone  makes  mention,  must  have  taken 
place,  from  their  connection  with  facts  stated  by  the 
other  evangelists,  such  as  the  discipleship  of  Joseph  of 
Arimathea,  and  the  intimacy  of  the  Savior  with  the 
family  at  Bethany.  Christ  himself,  too,  uses  the  words, 
in  his  lament  over  Jerusalem,  "  How  often  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children  together"  (Matt,  xxiii.  37  ;  Luke 
xiii.  34)  ;  words  entirely  irrelevant,  if  he  had  never 
visited  the  city  since  his  childhood. 

In  particular  narratives,  the  completion  of  the  accounts 
from  these  different  sources,  by  each  other,  is  very  dis- 


216 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


tinctly  marked.     Among  many  instances,  we  take  the 
following  :  Luke  (xxii.  27)  records  the  words  of  Christ, 
at  his  last  supper,  "  I  am  among  you  as  he  that  serveth  ;" 
John  furnishes  the  explanation  of  these  words,  in  the 
menial  office  which  the  Savior  had  just  discharged,  — 
that  of  washing  the  disciples*  feet.  (xiii.  4-12.)     From 
Luke  alone  it  would  seem  that  Pilate  acquitted  Jesus 
very  strangely,  after  he  had  declared  himself  a  king. 
(xxiii.  1-4.)     John  supplies  the  missing  link,  by  telling 
us  that  Jesus  had  explained  to  Pilate  that  his  kingdom 
was  not  of  this  world,  but  that  he  was  a  teacher  of  the 
truth,    (xviii.  36,  37.)     Sometimes  an  apparent  differ- 
ence is  easily  reconciled.     Thus,  in  John  i.  44,  Beth- 
saida  is  called  the  city  of  Andrew  and  Peter,  while  the 
Synoptics  all    speak    of  Peter's   house  in  Capernaum. 
(Matt.   viii.  5,  14,   and  parallel  passages.)     But  the 
mention,   in    the    same  connection,   of  "Peter's  wife's 
mother,"  suggests   the    explanation,   that  the    apostle, 
though  a  native  of  Bcthsaida,  was  at  home  in  Caper- 
naum  by  reason  of  his  marriage  there.     But  what  forger 
of  a  later  age  would  have  varied  from  the  Synoptics  on 
a  point  of  so  little  importance?     We  may  make  a  sim- 
ilar observation  on  all  the  points  of  apparent  difference. 
The  fourth   evamrelist,    whoever   he    was,    must   have 
known  the  Synoptical  account.     His  venturing  to  differ 
from  it  so  widely  in  appearance,  though  we  think  so 
little  in  reality,  can  only  be  explained  by  the  uncon- 
sciousness of  truth. 

Critics  have  tried  to  convict  this  writer  of  ignorance 
respecting  the  geography  of  the  Holy  Land,  because, 
according  to  the  best  established  reading,  he  speaks  of 
Bethany  on  the  Jordan,   (i.  28. )     In  the  time  of  Origen, 


k 


■ 

<  ■ 

^B 

1 

1 

• 

1 

1 

I 


w 


THE   FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


217 


no  such  i)lacc  was  known  there,  and  he  altered  the 
reading  to  Bethabara.  Both  words  have  the  same 
meaning,  that  of  "  crossing-place,"  —  a  name  equally  ap- 
propriare  to  a  village,  whether  by  a  river  or  on  a  hill. 
It  is  evident  that  the  evangelist  well  knew  the  Bethany 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  (xi.  18.)  His  mention,  then, 
of  the  other  "crossing  place"  on  the  Jordan,  was  not 
from  ignorance,  but  from  familiar  knowledge  of  the 
country,  and  of  the  names  by  which  places  were  known 
in  his  time.  A  similar  attempt  to  convict  the  apostle 
of  error,  has  been  made  with  regard  to  the  name  Sychar 
(iv.  5) ,  which  he  was  thought  to  have  substituted,  through 
ignorance,  for  Shechem  ;  but  the  existence  of  a  place  of 
that  name  in  Samaria  has  been  shown,  both  from  men- 
tion of  it  in  the  Talmud,  and  from  modern  research  in 

that  vicinity.* 

Not  much  more  successful  is  the  argument  founded 
on  the  designation  of  Caiaphas  as  "  high  priest  that  same 
year"  (xi."49),  as  if  the  writer  had  thought  the  high 
priesthood  was  an  elective  office.  It  is  known  that  the 
Koman  authority  frequently  transferred  the  dignity  from 
one  to  another,  but  not  at  regular  intervals.  Caiaphas 
held  the  office  more  than  ten  years  ;  the  evangelist  does 
not  deny  this  ;  he  only  states  that  Caiaphas  was  high 
priest  during  that  important  year  of  which  he  writes. 

Another  objection  is  drawn  from  the  manner  in  which 
the  writer  speaks  of  "  the  Jews,"  as  if  he  himself  were 
not  one  of  their  number.  In  some  instances  he  evi- 
dently uses  the  word  in  its  narrower  application,  the 

*  Wieseler,  Chronol.  Synop.  dcr  vicr  Evangelien,  p.  25G,  &c. 
Liglitfoot's  Iloric  Ilohraica;,  p.  93;  Rauner's  Palastina,  third  edition, 
p.  146 ;  quoted  by  Riggenbach. 


'^1 

1 


I- 


I 


218 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHUISTIANITY. 


Jews  ( Judxi)  being  the  inhabitants  of  Judaea,  the  south- 
ern province  of  Palestine,  as  distinguished  from  Galilee, 
(iii.  25;  vii.  1  ;  xi.  8.)  It  is  to  be  remembered,  also 
that  the  apostle,  when  he  wrote,  had  long  resided  among 
Gentiles,  and  had  become  separated  from  his  own  nation 
by  their  bitter  opposition  to  the  cause  to  which  he  was 
devoted.  It  is,  perhaps,  no  more  singular  that  he  should 
speak  of  "the  Jews"  as  if  he  did  not  belong  to  them, 
than  that  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  had  long 
since  emigrated  from  France,  should  speak  of  "the 
French"  as  if  he  had  nt)t  been  a  native  of  their  country. 

To  the  objection  which  has  been  derived  from  the 
difference  between  this  Gospel  and  the  others,  in  regard 
to  the  scene,  the  incidents,  and  the  character  of  the 
Savior's  ministry,  we  find  a  sufficient  answer  in  the 
testimony  of  antiquity,  that  John  wrote  his  Gospel  after 
the  otlier  evangelists,  and  with  a  knowledge  of  what 
they  had  written  ;  that  he  wrote  it,  therefore,  expressly 
to  supply  their  deficiencies,  narrating  incidents  which 
they  had  omitted,  and  ascending  to  spiritual  heights 
which  thev  had  not  reached.  Thus,  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria,  about  the  year  200,  writes  as  follows:  "But 
John,  last  of  all,  perceiving  that  what  had  reference  to 
the  body  in  the  Gospel  of  our  Savior  was  sufficiently 
detailed,  and  being  encouraged  by  his  familiar  friends, 
and  urged  by  the  Spirit,  wrote  a  spiritual  Gospel." 

The  Gospel  of  John  merits  the  name  thus  given  it. 
The  mind  of  John  appears  to  have  been  deeper,  more 
full  of  lofty  thought  and  tender  sentiment,  than  those  of 
his  fellow-disciples.  Not  improbably  he  had  received 
superior  advantages  of  early  education.  In  fact,  if  the 
tradition  respecting  his  youth  is  correct,  the  teaching  of 


Wi 


\m  I 


\i  ■ 
U 


THE    FOURTH   GOSPEL. 


219 


Jesus  came  to  him  as  a  part  of  his  education,  at  that 
period  of  life  when  the  heart  is  more  sensitive  to  all  high 
and  pure  influences  than  it  is  apt  afterwards  to  be.  He 
had  hung  enraptured  on  the  Sa\ior's  words,  and  pene- 
trated deep  into  their  meaning,  when  it  had  been  veiled 
from  others.  Few  of  the  miracles  does  the  beloved  dis- 
ciple record,  and  scarcely  any  of  the  [)arables.  The 
wonderful  acts  could  be  seen  by  all ;  the  stories,  enter- 
taining and  striking,  could  be  set  down  from  memory 
by  more  conunon  minds  ;  but  it  was  left  for  the  friend 
of  Jesus  to  transmit  to  us  the  deep  conversation  with 
Nicodemus  on  the  New  l>irtli,  the  instruction  on  the 
spiritual  nature  of  God  which  Christ  uttered  to  the 
Samaritan  woman,  the  promise  of  the  Comforter,  and 
the  mystic  prayer  that  the  disciples  should  all  be  one, 
as  Christ  himself  was  one  with  God. 

The  style  of  the  Savior's  teaching  in  John's  Gospel, 
though  difrcrent  from  that  in  the  Synoptics,  is  not  more 
different  than  may  be  accounted  for  bv  the  different 
characters  of  mind  in  the  writers.  They  agree  in  this, 
that  the  stvle  of  the  Savior  was  hiMdy  fiiiurative,  and 
from  the  boldness  of  the  figures  he  employed,  sometimes 
difficult  to  be  understood  by  those  around  him ;  as 
when,  in  the  earlier  Gospels,  he  told  them  to  beware  of 
the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  and  they 
thought  that  he  spoke  literally  of  the  leaven  of  bread ; 
and  as,  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  he  told  them,  "He  that 
hath  no  sword,  let  him  sell  his  garment  and  buy  one," 
and  they  in  their  simplicity  showed  him  two  swords, 
with  which  they  were  already  provided ;  not  under- 
standing liis  meaning,  that  they  should  arm  their  minds, 
not  their  hands,  for  the  conflict  that  was  before  them. 


-  •-' — 


220 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


Thus,  too,  in  John,  the  Savior  washes  the  feet  of  the 
disciples,  and  commands  tliem  to  wash  one  another's 
feet ;  and  some  Christians  may  have  thought  he  was 
instituting  an  external  rite,  instead  of  giving  a  precept 
of  humility. 

AVe  have  said  that  John  gives  hardly  any  parables ; 
we  might  have  said,  none  ;  fur  what  are  called  parables 
in  his  Gos[)cl,  are  not  narratives,  but  comparisons. 
But  the  same  fertility  of  fancy  is  displayed  in  the  com- 
parisons of  the  Vine  and  of  the  Shepherd,  that  is  shown 
in  the  jjarables  of  the  Sower  and  of  the  Prodigal  Son. 
If  Luke  had  been  the  rei)orter  of  the  first  mentioned 
illustrations,  he  would  have  written,  "  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  likened  unto  a  householder,  which  h;id  a  vine," 
and  so  on,  instead  of  directly,  "I  am  tiie  true  vine,  and 
my  Father  is  the  husbandman."  The  difference  in  the 
style,  instead  of  showing  a  different  origin  for  the  ac- 
count, proves  that  the  writer  was  no  mere  imitator  ;  — 
and  thus  we  may  say  of  other  differences.  A  forger, 
who,  a  century  after  the  time  of  Christ,  had  endeavored 
to  palm  a  spurious  gospel  on  the  world,  would  have 
been  likely  to  copy,  with  servile  minuteness,  the  features 
of  the  true. 

The  difference  between  the  portraiture  of  the  Savior, 
as  given  by  the  Synoptics  and  by  eTohn,  has  been  beau- 
tifully illustrated  by  that  which  is  observable  between 
the  representations  of  Socrates  by  Xenophon  and  by 
Plato.*  Xenophon  was  a  man  of  practical  mind,  a 
soldier  and  a  statesman  ;  Plato,  a  philosopher  of  deep 
investigation  as  well  as  of  original  genius.     Their  ac- 

♦  Bleek,  referred  to  by  Prof.  Fisher. 


THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


221 


t. 


counts  bear  the  mark  of  their  respective  personalities ; 
yet,  combined  together,  the  one  supplies  the  deficiencies 

of  the  other. 

One  of  the  arguments  against  the  genuineness  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  is  founded  on  its  language  respecting  the 
Logos,  the  Word,  or  personified  Wisdom  of  God.    (John 
i.  i-14.)     In  this,  the  Tiibingen  school  of  critics  see 
traces  of  Gnosticism  —  an  early  heresy,  which  endeav- 
ored to  refine  Christianity  by  combining  it  with  wliat  then 
passed  for  spiritual  philosophy.     Dating  the  develop- 
ment of  this  system  near  the  middle  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, they  assign  that  as  the  earliest  period  when  the 
Fourth  Gospel  can  have  been  written.     For  the  same 
reason  Dr.  Baur  denied  the  genuineness  of  some  of  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul.     We  propose  to  examine  his  argu- 
ment   in    connection    with    those    Epistles.     It   is   well 
known,  however,  that  language  similar  to  that  used  in 
the  Fourth  Gospel  with  regard  to  "  the  Word  of  God," 
was  employed  long  before  the  rise  of  Gnosticism.     Philo, 
a  Jewish  writer,  of  Alexandria  in  Egypt,  contemporary 
with  the   Savior,  makes  use  of  it,  and  the  apocryphal 
book  called  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  whose  author  also 
was   a   Jew   of  the   Alexandrian   school,   describes   the 
Word  as  leaping  down  from  heaven  out  of  God's  royal 
throne,  and  touching  heaven  while   it  stood  upon  the 
earth,      (xviii.    15,    16.)      If  it  be  questioned  how  the 
ideas  of  the  Alexandrian   school  became  known  to  the 
Apostle  John,  the  answer  is  obvious.     John,  according 
to  the  ancient  accounts,  wrote  his  Gospel  in  his  old  age. 
He   then   resided   in  the  Proconsular  Asia,  whose  great 
cities,  such  as  Ephesus  and  Smyrna,  carried  on  constant 
intercourse  with  Alexandria,  and  with  every  other  centre 


222 


EVIDENCES  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


of  Greek  civilization.  Can  it  be  wondered  at  tliat  he 
should  show  an  acquaintance  with  [)hih)sop]iic  ideas  and 
cx[)ressions  which  had  been  in  use  in  the  Alexandrian 
school  for  a  hundred  vears  ? 

But  the  use  of  the  term  in  the  Revelation,  which  Dr. 
Baur  admits  to  be  the  genuine  work  of  John,  is  in  itself 
a  sufficient  answer  to  his  objection.  Describino-  the 
Savior  in  his  exaltation,  as  going  forth  to  conquer  the 
world,  the  poet  says,  "His  name  is  called  the  AVord  of 
God."  (liev.  xix.  13.)  Dr.  Baur  passes  this  over  very 
slightly,  with  the  remark,  that  the  expression  is  not  here 
used  in  the  true  sense  of  the  Logos  doctrine.  A\  ithout 
inquiring,  however,  what  peculiar  shade  of  thought  Dr. 
Baur  regards  as  the  true  sense  of  that  doctrine,  it  is 
sufficient  for  us  that  the  expression  "the  AVord  of  God" 
is  used,  and  that  it  is  applied  to  the  manifestation  of  the 
Almighty  in  Christ  and  in  his  Gospel.  This  comes  very 
near  to  the  thought  in  the  first  chapter  of  John's  Gos- 
pel. It  suggests  the  conclusion  that  the  two  passages 
are  from  the  same  author.  Yet  should  it  be  denied  that 
the  A|)ocalypse  was  from  the  hand  of  John,  it  is  un- 
questionably of  such  early  date,  that  its  application  of 
the  term  Logos  to  Christ,  may  well  illustrate  the  similar 
use  of  that  term  in  the  Fourth  Gospel. 

We  have  next  to  speak  of  the  objection  drawn  from 
the  raising  of  Lazarus,  which  is  represented  as  a  miracle 
too  extraordinary  to  have  been  omitted  by  the  otlier 
evangelists  if  it  had  reallv  taken  idace.  The  answer 
generally  given  to  this  is,  that  when  the  Synoptics  wrote, 
Eazarus  and  his  sisters  were  probably  still  living,  and 
might  have  been  pointed  out  to  persecution  by  a  mention 
of  the  connection  in  which  tliey  had  stood  witli  Jesus ; 


'I 


THE   FOURTH   GOSPEL. 


223 


i; 


-   ; 


h 


while  at  the  later  date  of  John's  Gospel,  they  had  all 
passed  away.  AVe  may  add,  that  even  were  they  then 
living,  the  Jewish  power  to  injure  them  was  then  broken. 
We  would  hazard,  as  a  further  answer,  the  following  con- 
jecture :  AVhen  Jesus  reached  Bethany,  he  was  on  the 
road  to  Jerusalem,  and  only  two  miles  from  it.  It  seems 
highly  probable  that  on  his  visit  of  consolation  and 
relief  to  his  private  friends  at  Bethany,  he  would  prefer 
to  go  with  but  two  or  three  chosen  companions,  sending 
the  rest  of  his  company  forward  to  the  neighboring 
capital.  Among  these  confidential  friends  was  John,  as 
on  other  occasions ;  and  thus  he  became  the  only  eye- 
witness among  the  evangelists,  and  almost  the  only  one 
among  the  apostles,  of  the  wonder  that  took  place. 
When  we  add  to  this  that  the  occurrence,  great  as  it 
was,  was  succeeded  soon  after  by  the  still  greater  and 
more  startling  occurrences  of  the  Savior's  trial,  death, 
and  resurrection,  v/e  may  wonder  the  less  that  it  was 
omitted  by  writers  who  did  not  witness  jt  themselves. 

But  the  most  important  argument  against  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  is  that  which  is  founded  on 
its  different  representation  of  the  time  of  the  last  supper 
from  that  which  is  given  by  the  Synoptics.  These  state 
unequivocally  that  Jesus  kept  the  passover  with  his  dis- 
ciples. The  language  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  seems  to 
imply  that  the  last  supper  with  his  friends  was  before 
the  passover.  The  thirteenth  chapter  begins  with  the 
words,  "Now,  before  the  feast  of  the  passover,  when 
Jesus  knew  that  his  hour  was  come."  The  disciples 
interpreted  certain  words  said  by  Jesus  to  Judas  at  the 
table,  to  mean,  "Buy  those  things  that  we  have  need  of 
against  the  feast"   (xiii.    29),   and  the  next  morning 


224 


EVIDENCES  OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


the  accusers  of  Jesus  "  went  not  into  the  judgment  hall 
lest  they  should  he  defiled,  hut  that  they  might  eat  the 
passover."  (xviii.  28. )  These  expressions  prove,  it  is 
said,  that  Jesus  partook  of  his  last  supper,  not  on  the 
creat  feast  dav,  but  at  least  one  day  before.  If  this 
construction  be  received,  there  is  a  contradiction  between 
John  and  the  Synoptics. 

Further,  this  construction  of  John's  language  is 
strengthened  by  the  expression  by  which  he  seems  to 
identify  Christ  himself  with  the  paschal  sacrifice.  He 
quotes  and  apphes  to  Christ  the  direction  given  with 
regard  to  that  sacrifice,  —  "a  bone  of  him  shall  not  be 
broken."  (xix.  3(3.)  Christ,  then,  says  Dr.  Baur  in 
substance,  is  represented  by  the  autlior  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  as  the  true  paschal  lamb ;  suffering  on  the  same 
day  when  the  paschal  lamb  was  slaughtered.  He  is 
made  to  meet  his  disciples  at  supper  on  the  day  before 
the  passover,  in  order  that  he  may  suffer  himself  on  the 
day  of  the  passover ;  thus  fulfilling  the  type  at  the  very 
time  for  which  it  was  appointed. 

Having  made  a  discovery  of  this  "tendency,"  Dr. 
Baur  proceeds  to  connect  it  with  the  Quartodeciman 
controversy  respecting  the  time  of  keeping  Easter,  in- 
ferring that  the  Fourth  Gospel  was  written  with  reference 
to  that  controversy,  and  to  give  the  Occidental  party 
therein  some  apparent  apostolical  authority.  Of  course 
this  would  carry  its  date  down  to  the  period  at  which 
that  controversy  was  agitated;  and  an  earlier  period 
could  scarcely  be  assigned  to  it  than  the  middle  of  the. 

second  century. 

Further  still,  the  argument  against  the  genuineness 
of  the  Gospel  is  thought  to  be  strengthened  by  the  fact, 


THE    FOURTH    GOSPEL. 


225 


that  while  the  Occidental  Christians  mi^ght  plead  the 
authority  of  this  Gospel  for  their  custom,  the  Orientals 
did  actually  and  strongly  plead  the  authority  of  eTohn 
himself  for  theirs.  Polycratcs,  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  near 
the  close  of  the  second  century,  declared  with  the  utmost 
solemnity,  that  the  Asiatic  churches,  in  celebrating 
Easter  on  the  very  day  of  the  Jewish  passover,  did  but 
observe  the  custom  transmitted  them  by  the  venerable 
Apostle  John  himself.  We  have,  therefore,  concludes 
Dr.  Baur,  the  personal  authority  of  the  Apostle  John 
directly  opposed  to  the  view  presented  in  that  Gospel 
which  claims  to  be  called  by  his  name. 

AVith  regard  to  this  ingenious  argument,  we  have  in 
the  first  place  to  remark,  that  it  proves  too  much.     If 
we  are  to  believe  Dr.   Baur,  it  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
controversy  which  shook  the  whole  Christian  church,  — 
a   controversy  of   such   importance   that   Polycarp    of 
Smyrna   is   said   to  have  gone  to  Rome  to  confer  with 
Anicetus  on  account  of  it,  the  apostolical  and  evangeli- 
cal authority  being  thus  far  entirely  on  one  side,  that 
suddenly  the  opposite  side  produced  a  document,  pur[)ort- 
ing  to  be  of  the  very  highest  character  —  a  gos^pcl,  and 
the  work  of  an  apostle,  —  of  that  very  apostle  too,  to 
whom  the  other  party  looked  up  as  their  especial  patron 
and  founder.     To  say  nothing  of  the  absurdity  of  sup- 
posing the  glorious  Gospel  of  John  to  have  been  written 
for  the  sake  of  an  obscure  inference  from  some  few  verses 
in  it  with  regard  to  a  point  of  ceremony,  how  came  it 
that  the  fraud  was  not  suspected,  nay,  was  not  detected 
in  a  moment?     What  would  be  the  emotions  of  Poly- 
carp, when,  in  his  conference  with  Anicetus,  he  heard  for 
the  first  time  passages  quoted  from  a  Gospel  purporting 

15 


226 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


to  be  from  his  own  great  master,  but  of  which  lie  had 
never  heard  before?  Or  to  couie  some  years  lower 
down,  when  Polycrates  of  Ephesus  solemnly  appealed 
to  his  own  gray  hairs,  and  to  the  elders  by  whom  he  had 
been  instructed,  in  reference  to  the  Apostle  John's  mode 
of  keeping  Easter,  why  had  he  no  word  to  say  against 
the  atrocious  fraud  which  ascribed  a  recently-written 
book  to  that  same  apostle,  in  order  to  bring  his  testimony 
on  the  wrong  side?  So  fiir  from  this,  Polycrates  is,  as 
we  have  seen  already  (page  212),  one  of  the  witnesses 
for  this  very  book  !  By  none  of  those  engaged  in  this 
controversy  was  a  word  of  objection  to  this  Gospel 
uttered.  Ireuiuus,  the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  knew  of 
none  on  the  piu't  of  his  venerable  teacher.  Eusebius, 
who  described  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Nicaia, 
where  this  Quartodeciman  controversy  was  finally  set- 
tled, and  wliere  the  Oriental  party  must  have  brought 
forward  their  objections,  still  speaks  of  the  Gospel  of 
John  as  of  unquestioned  genuineness,  carefully  discrimi- 
nating it,  and  others  with  it,  from  those  respecting  which 
any  doubt  existed.  There  have  been  successful  literary 
frauds,  but  such  a  fraud  as  this  was  never  heard  of;  — 
to  hnn<x  in,  as  the  work  of  a  distin^iuished  man,  a  forj^^ed 
document,  contradictory  to  his  practice,  and  to  the  opin- 
ions and  practice  of  the  school  which  he  had  founded, 
and  to  obtain  for  it  universal  reception,  without  the 
slightest  objection  on  tlie  part  of  that  school.  We  may 
reverse  the  reasoning  of  Dr.  Baur,  and  say  with  truth, 
that  the  apparent  bearing  which  the  Gospel  of  John  has 
upon  the  Quartodeciman  controversy,  is  a  proof  that  it 
cannot  have  been  introduced  while  that  controversy  was 
in    agitation.     The    Orientals,   the  disciples   of   John, 


>f 


i 


THE    FOURTH    GOSPEL. 


227 


would  not  have  forged  a  work  which  made  against  their 
principles ;  and  the  Occidentals  could  not  have  intro- 
duced it  without  a  protest  from  those  among  whom  the 
apostle  had  lived  and  Liborcd,  and  who  must  have  known 
that  no  such  work  existed  from  his  pen. 

But  how,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  can  the  objection  be 
surmounted,  tliat  the  book  is  contradictory  to  the  known 
practice  of  St.   John,  as  Polycrates  describes  it?     AVe 
answer,  that  the  contradiction   is   in  appearance  only. 
The  question  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  churches 
was,  whether  they  should  keep  as  a  Christian  festival  the 
Jewish  passover,  or  the  Sunday  that  followed  it.     The 
Eastern  churches  kept  the  passover  itself ;  the  Western 
kept  the  Sunday  after.     The  reason  of  this  difference  is 
sufficiently  obvious,  in  the  fiict  that  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tians wxre  more  numerous  in  the  East,  and  naturally 
continued  the  observance  of  the  same  day  to  w^hich,  as 
Jews,   they   had   always   been   accustomed ;    while   the 
Western    Christians,   being    principally    converts    from 
heathenism,  were  indiiferent  to  the  Jewish  custom,  but 
observed  the  first  day  of  the  week  following,  being  the 
day  of  the  Savior's  resurrection.     Of  course,  St.  John, 
being  a  Jew  by  birth,  was  likely  to  follow  the  customs 
of  his  nation  in  all  matters  of  indifference  ;  and  the 
account   of   Polycrates   is  therefore   undoubtedly  true, 
that  he,  when  the  season  came  round  which  had  witnessed 
his  beloved  Master's  death  and  resurrection,  observed  it 
especially  on  that  same  day  that  had  been  observed  for 
more  than  a  thousand  years.     Is  this  a  proof  that  the 
document  cannot  have  come  from  him  which  testifies 
that  it  was  on  that  day  the  Savior  was  crucified  ?     It  is 
true  that  Easter,  as  it  became  afterwards  distinctly  fixed 


228 


EVIDENCES    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 


in  the  customs  of  the  church  as  commemorative  of  the 
resurrection,  would  not  seem  to  be  suitably  observed  on 
that  which  was  the  day  of  the  crucifixion  ;  but  we  should 
err  in  ascribing:  to  the  Apostle  John  the  finical  ritualism 
of  a  later  age.  Had  he  given  a  thought  to  the  question 
whether  he  should  change,  in  his  observance,  the  day  to 
which  he  had  as  a  Jew  been  accustomed,  he  would  prob- 
ably have  answered,  that  the  day  of  his  Lord's  death 
was  as  full  of  precious  memories  to  him  as  the  day  on 
which  he  arose  ;  and  that  if  those  memories  were  in  part 
mournful,  yet  the  mournful ness  had  been  allayed  by  the 
event  that  followed,  while  there  remained  the  joy  of 
the  ffreat  salvation  which  that  death  had  accomplished. 
He  kept,  then,  the  ancient  anniversary,  and  the  whole 
Oriental  church  kept  it  also.  They  all  knew  that  it 
could  not  possibly  be  the  real  anniversary  of  the  resur- 
rection ;  that  took  })laceon,  at  least,  the  third  day  after- 
wards ;  but  they  kept  it  in  memory  of  the  season  during 
whose  successive  days  the  great  sacrifice  had  been  offered, 
and  the  great  trium[)h  over  death  achieved. 

But  if  we  hjive  succeeded  in  disentangling  the  question 
before  us  from  the  Quart odcciman  controversy,  the  ob- 
jection still  remains  that  the  Fourth  Gospel  appears  to 
assign  a  different  date  to  the  last  sup})er  from  that  as- 
signed by  the  others.  The  best  as  well  as  the  sinplest 
answer  to  this,  ai)pears  to  be,  that  John  uses  the  word 
Passover  in  a  comprch.cnsive  sense,  including  not  only 
the  banquet  on  the  lamb,  l)ut  the  whole  subsequent  week 
of  festivity.  This  sense  of  the  word  is  fully  authorized 
by  the  passage  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  (xvi.  1-8), 
prescribing  the  feast.  "  Thou  shalt  sacrifice  the  passover 
unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  of  the  flock  and  the  herd ; " 


THE    FOURTH   GOSPEL. 


229 


i 


literally,  sheep  and  oxen.  "  Seven  days  shalt  thou  eat 
unleavened  bread  therewith,"  that  is,  with  the  passover, 
that  term  being  thus  extended  to  include  the  sacrifices, 
of  larger  as  well  as  smaller  animals,  through  the  whole 
week.  When,  therefore,  the  disciples  were  supposed 
to  be  preparing,  on  the  evening  of  the  last  supper,  what 
they  needed  "aijainst  the  feast,"  and  when,  on  the  next 
day,  the  priests  guarded  against  legal  defilement,  "  that 
they  might  eat  the  passover,"  they  had  in  view,  not  the 
paschal  supper,  but  the  celebration  of  the  subsequent 
days. 

We  find  in  this  Gospel  an  attestation  of  its  own 
authority,  of  a  remarkable  character.  In  the  last  verse 
but  one  it  is  said,  "  This  is  the  disciple  which  testifieth 
of  these  things,  and  wrote  these  things ;  and  we  know 
that  his  testimony  is  true."  These  words  appear  to 
have  been  added  by  another  hand.  In  the  use  of  the 
first  and  third  persons,  the  writer  distinguishes  himself 
from  him  of  whom  he  speaks.  The  strong  exaggeration 
too,  of  the  next  verse,  is  unlike  anything  else  in  this 
Gospel,  and  betrays  a  different  hand.  If  these  two 
verses,  then,  were  added  by  another  person,  and  added 
so  early  as  to  be  found  in  all  existing  copies  of  the  Gos- 
pel, we  have  the  direct  testimony  of  a  contemporary  to 
the  fact  that  this  Gospel  was  written  by  the  beloved 
disciple.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  these  verses  were 
written  by  the  author  of  the  work,  they  contain  such  a 
direct  assertion  on  his  part,  of  his  own  apostolic  author- 
ity, as  can  be  found  in  neither  of  the  other  Gospels ; 
an  assertion,  which,  if  i\\G  work  were  not  genuine, 
would  deprive  its  publication  of  all  excuse,  and  present 
it  in  the  aspect  of  an  unmitigated  forgery.     Well  may 


230 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


v. 


Kenan  observe,  "  We  have  no  example  in  the  apostolic 
world,  of  a  forgery  of  this  kind."  * 

While,  however,  the  author,  or  a  contemporary  on  his 
behalf,  thus  claims  the  place  of  an  apostle,  the  name  is 
veiled  beneath  a  circumlocution.  lie  calls  himself 
"another  disciple"  (xviii.  15),  and  "the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved."  (xiii.  23;  xxi.  7,20.)  This  seems  only 
to  be  accounted  for  by  admitting  the  genuineness  of  the 
work. 

The  modern  opponents  of  the  authenticity  of  this 
Gospel  generally  admit  that  its  author  desired  it  to  pass 
for  the  production  of  the  Apostle  John.  Strauss  as- 
cribes it  to  some  one  who  had  come  from  a  Johannean 
school ;  and  Baur  conceives  that  one  object  of  its  com- 
position was,  to  give  the  authority  of  an  apostolic  name 
to  the  Occidental  side  in  the  controversy  respecting  the 
time  of  keeping  Easter.  If,  then,  the  author  desired 
either  to  do  honor  to  the  Apostle  John,  or  to  make  use 
of  his  authority,  why  should  he  conceal  his  name?  It 
were  better  for  either  purpose  to  declare  it  as  openly  as 
possible.  He  scruples  not  to  tell  us  that  Peter  followed 
his  Lord  to  the  high  priest's  hall  of  judgment ;  why 
should  he  veil  the  name  of  the  disciple  who  accompanied 
him?  Why,  but  that  he  was  that  disciple  himself,  and 
used  a  circumlocution,  either  from  real  modesty  or  from 
an  affectation  of  it  ? 

Kindred  to  the  last  topic  named  is  that  of  the  prom- 
inence given  to  this  unnamed  apostle.  This  prominence 
is  especially  marked  in  the  contrast  in  which  he  stands 
to  Peter.     Peter,  wishing  to  know  whom  Jesus  meant, 

*  Life  of  Jesus,  p.  26. 


THE  FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


231 


must  beckon  to  the  beloved  disciple,  who  reclines  next 
to  Jesus;  Peter  can  only  stand  at  the  high  priest's 
door,  till  the  beloved  disciple,  who  has  familiar  access 
there,  introduces  him  ;  at  the  sepulchre,  they  rival  each 
other  in  forwardness,  but  the  palm,  on  the  whole,  is 
awarded  to  the  beloved  disciple,  who  "saw  and  believed  ;'' 
and  finally,  in  the  scene  by  the  lake,  though  a  solemn 
charge,  and  the  prediction  of  a  martyr's  death,  are  given 
to  Peter,  yet  the  beloved  disciple,  who  had  first  recog- 
nized his  Lord,  is  fiivored  with  a  mysterious  prophecy, 
which  seemed  to  indicate  some  more  exalted  destiny. 
All  this  cannot  be  accidental  on  the  part  of  a  forger, 
who  merely  wished  to  avail  himself  of  the  authority  of 
the  Apostle  John.  It  was  either  the  work  of  that  apos- 
tle himself,  or  of  some  ardent  admirer  of  him,  who 
sought  occasions  to  exalt  his  glory. 

But  is  such  ardent  admiration  of  a  venerable  religious 
teacher  consistent  with  the  wholesale  falsehood  of  which 
this  supposed  disciple  of  John  was  guilty  ?  And  why, 
we  may  ask  again,  should  he  have  suppressed  the  name 
of  that  teacher  whom  he  so  idolized  ?  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  suppose  the  Gospel  to  have  been  written  by 
John  himself,  there  are  various  suppositions  which  ex- 
plain the  prominence  thus  given  to  that  apostle.  We 
may  discern  in  it  the  effect  of  vanity.  Peter  and  John 
were  the  most  distinguished  of  the  band ;  and  the  aged 
teacher  may  have  unconsciously  dwelt  on  every  little 
circumstance  in  wliich  he  had  the  advantage.  Such  is 
the  view  taken  by  Kenan.  Or,  we  may  suppose  that  the 
apostle  simply  told  the  truth,  only  that  he  remembered 
best  those  particulars  in  which  he  had  borne  a  part. 
We  are  more  inclined  to  see  here  ft  contest  of  Christian 


^-d 


*   -r^*^- 


232 


EVIDENCES   OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


principle  with  acknowledged  temptation,  than  a  dull, 
impassive  faithfulness.  The  apostle  was  conscious  of 
a  wish  to  assert  his  own  equality,  at  least,  with  him  who 
was  even  then  regarded  as  the  chief  of  the  band.  The 
wish  made  him  dwell,  more  than  another  would  have 
done,  on  minute  incidents  favorable  to  his  own  claims ; 
but  the  consciousness  of  that  wish,  recognized  by  a 
faithful  heart,  made  him  veil  his  name.  Thin  as  the 
veil  was,  he  meant  that  it  should  be  an  effectual  disguise  ; 
but  all  concealment  was  at  an  end,  when  some  loving 
follower,  probably  after  the  apostle's  death,  added  to  his 
manuscript  the  words,  "This  is  the  disciple  which  testi- 
fieth  of  these  things,  and  wrote  these  things,  and  we 
know  that  his  testimony  is  true." 

The  supposition  is  worth  a  moment's  pause  to  consider, 
which  regards  not  these  closing  words  alone,  but  the 
whole  Gospel,  as  having  been  written,  not  by  John 
himself,  but  by  his  immediate  hearers,  from  the  accounts 
which  he  had  repeatedly  given  them.  There  are  some 
things  which  give  probability  to  this  theory,  especially 
the  manner  in  which,  more  than  once,  the  discourses  of 
Jesus  pass  insensibly  into  the  amplifications  of  his  his- 
torian. This  seems  like  the  style  of  an  extemporaneous 
speaker,  in  whose  language  there  are  no  quotation  marks 
to  tell  us  wliere  he  ceases  to  repeat  another's  words,  and 
begins  to  explain  them  with  his  own.  This  theory  does 
not  conflict  with  our  reception  of  the  Gospel  as  that  of 
John.  If  it  came  from  his  disciples,  repeating  to  us 
his  words,  it  is  in  fact  his.  JBut  the  probability  in  its 
favor  is  not  sufficient  to  outweigh  the  uniform  tradition 
of  the  church  ;  and  the  phenomena  previously  spoken  of 
appear  more  consistent  with  the  direct  authorship  of  the 
beloved  disciple. 


'u 


H 


I 


hi 


THE   FOURTH  GOSPEL. 


233 


We  conclude,  then,  that  the  Fourth  Gospel  is  the  gen- 
uine work  of  the  Apostle  John.     The  various  objections 
which  have  been  brought  forward,  are  all  susceptible  of 
explanation  ;  and  were  they  stronger  than  they  are,  they 
would  be  more  than  equalled  by  the  difficulties  which 
must  attend  the  opposite  theory.     If  we  consider  it  to 
have  been  composed  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century, 
we  have  to  account  for  the  fact  of  its  universal  reception, 
as  attested  by  ample  authority  at  the  end  of  that  century. 
Every  difference  that  exists  between  this  Gospel  and  the 
others,   would  increase  the  difficulty  of  imposing  the 
forgery  upon  the  church.     It  is  to  us  inconceivable  that 
had  it  thus  been  introduced,  no  trace  of  controversy,  or 
of  opposition  with  regard  to  it,  should  remain,  save  in 
the  obscure  heresy  of  the  Alogi. 

But  this  is  not  to  us  the  strongest  consideration  in  its 
favor.  The  intellectual  power,  the  spiritual  insight,  the 
hallowed  warmth  of  love  to  God  and  man,  which  this 
Gospel  manifests,  are  its  strongest,  as  well  as  its  highest 
proof.  We  listen  with  composure  to  a  critic  of  Shake- 
speare, when  he  tells  us  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  that 
great  master  wrote  Titus  Andronicus,  or  Pericles  Prince 
of  Tyre.  The  critic  may  be  right,  for  those  plays  are 
comparatively  inferior  productions.  But  if  he  tells  us 
that  Lear  and  Ilamlct  have  been  wrongly  ascribed  to 
him,  we  answer  that  they  bear  the  indubitable  stamp  of 
Shakespeare's  genius.  If  he  who  wrote  Macbeth  did 
not  write  these,  there  were  two  Shakespeares.  The 
greatest  of  dramatic  poets,  whom  the  whole  world  beside 
has  not  equalled  before  or  since,  had  his  equal  in  a  writer, 
who  yet  saw  fit  to  give  the  credit  of  his  own  splendid 

works  to  his  great  rival,  and  let  his  own  name  be  for- 
gotten.    Thus,  if  the  Fourth  Gospel  be  not  authentic, 


234 


EVIDENCES   OF   (CHRISTIANITY. 


the  moral  miracle  of  Christianity  is  doubled.  There 
were  two  Christs  —  two  rcli«i:ious  teachers,  endowed 
with  the  highest  gifts  of  intellect  and  feeling.  One 
gave  the  Sermon  on  the  ]Mount  and  the  parable  of  the 
Prodiiral  Son  ;  the  other  ima^jined  the  conversation  at 
the  Well  of  Sychar,  and  tlie  holiest  words  of  the  Last 
Supper :  but  this  last  glorious  teacher  threw  away  the 
fame  that  might  have  been  his,  by  the  folly  and  sin  of 
attributinir  his  own  m-eat  thoughts  to  the  Savior,  whom 
be  alone  could  equal.  AVho  was  he?  Wimt  author  of 
that  age  was  capable  of  the  wondrous  forgery  ?  No : 
we  recognize  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  the  stamp  of  Heaven  ; 
in  its  great  subject,  God*s  Messiah  ;  and  in  his  biographer, 
the  Beloved  Disciple. 


baur's  view  of  the  acts. 


235 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
Baur's  View  of  the  Acts. 

In  investio-atinix  the  claims  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  to 
apostolic  autliority,  we  have  found  their  chief  opponents 
in  "the  Tiil)ingcn  School,"  and  especially  in  its  master- 
spirit, the  late  Dr.  Ferdinand  Christian  Baur.  We 
have  now  to  examine  the  views  of  the  same  author  with 
regard  to  the  Book  of  Acts  and  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul. 

The  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  among  those 
which  the  ancient  catalogues,  as  we  have  seen,  record 
as  having  been  received  without  question  by  the  early 
church.  It  bears,  too,  very  strong  internal  evidence  of 
its  own  character,  as  tlie  work  of  a  companion  of  the 
Apostle  Paul.  (See  "Manual,"  section  19.)  Among 
the  testimony  afforded  to  it  by  the  Epistles,  we  may  add 
to  what  has  been  said  already,  tliat  Luke,  its  traditional 
author,  is  recognized  as  a  companion  of  Paul  in  three 
passages  (Col.  iv.  14;  2  Tim.  iv.  11;  Philemon  24), 
which  at  least  show  the  belief  of  the  church  respecting 
him  at  a  very  early  period.  The  abrupt  ending  of  the 
Acts,  too,  with  the  statement  that  Paul  had  dwelt  two 
years  at  Rome,  marks  the  date  of  this  composition  as 
before  the  Neronian  persecution  in  A.  D.  04.  The 
book  ends  in  a  cheerful  spirit.  The  great  teacher, 
whose  history  it  records,   is  comparatively  at  liberty, 


III     I     IJL    JM 


236 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


preaching  the  gospel  in  the  capital  of  the  civilized  world. 
Would  the  writer  have  closed  his  biography  in  this  cheer- 
ful strain,  if  that  period  of  the  churcli's  peaceful  growth 
had  already  been  succeeded  by  the  horrible  tortures  which 
the  w^orst  of  tvrants  inflicted  on  those  Christians  to 
whom  public  prejudice  attributed  tlie  burning  of  the 
city  ?  Above  all,  would  a  writer  in  any  subsequent  age, 
giving  a  fictitious  account  of  the  ministry  of  Paul  and 
other  apostles,  have  failed  to  embellish  his  narrative 
with  the  story  of  their  death  ?  If  the  Book  of  Acts  was 
written  with  a  "reconciling  tendency,"  should  we  not 
find  in  it  the  statement  which  comes  to  us  from  early 
tradition,  that  Peter  and  Paul  were  sufferers  together  in 
the  persecution  under  Xero,  while  words  of  mutual  re- 
spect and  encouragement  from  the  two  holy  martyrs 
would  show  the  studied  attempt  to  obliterate  all  remem- 
brance of  former  discord  ? 

It  is  on  the  supposition  of  such  discord  that  Dr. 
Baur's  theory  is  f()unded.  And  this  sui)position  itself 
rests  in  great  part  on  the  passage,  Galatians  ii.  11-14, 
where  Paul  relates  his  expostulation  with  Peter,  on  the 
inconsistent  conduct  of  the  latter  towards  the  Gentile 
converts.  There  was,  then,  this  author  maintains,  a  de- 
cided opposition  between  these  two  apostles ;  the  others 
of  the  original  apostolic  band,  especially  James  and 
John,  taking  side  with  Peter,  and  opposing  the  admis- 
sion of  Gentiles  into  the  church  unless  they  first,  as  far 
as  was  possible,  became  Jews,  while  Paul  appeared  as 
the  advocate  of  a  free  and  spiritual  system.  Through 
his  efforts  it  was  that  Christianity  burst  its  original  bonds 
of  narrow  Judaism,  and  became  a  religion  for  the  civil- 
ized world. 


f\ 


h 


baur's  view  of  the  acts. 


237 


The  resemblance  and  the  difference  are  alike  notice- 
able, between  this  view  of  Baur's  and  that  of  which  we 
have  before  spoken,  as  taken  by  some  Jewish  writers. 
The  Karaite  Rabbi  (page  104),  like  Baur,  regards 
Jesus  as  an  excellent  teacher  of  morals,  but  entirely  on 
the  platform  of  the  Jewish  law,  while  he  represents 
Paul  as  bringing  in  other  views.  But  while  Baur  re- 
gards this  apostle  as  the  great  improver  of  Christianity, 
the  Jew  represents  him  as  its  great  corrupter.  For 
ourselves,  if  compelled  to  choose  between  the  two  opin- 
ions, we  should  assent  to  that  of  the  German  theologian. 
While,  however,  we  agree  with  him  in  according  to  the 
Apostle  Paul  the  honor  of  being  the  great  champion  of 
a  free  and  universal  Christianity,  we  believe  that  he  \vas 
not  its  earliest  assertor ;  that  the  doctrine  of  deliverance 
from  Jewish  restrictions  was  implied,  if  not  expressed, 
in  the  teachings  of  Christ  himself  (especially  in  John 
iv.  21-23)  ;  that  it  was  proclaimed  by  Peter  (Acts  x.), 
and  sanctioned  by  the  assembly  of  the  apostles  at  Jeru- 
salem (Acts  xi.  18  ;  XV.  23-29). 

These  results  we  gather  from  the  Book  of  Acts.  But 
Dr.  Baur  having  adopted  a  different  theory,  it  becomes 
necessary  for  him  to  dispose  of  that  book,  by  assigning 
it  to  a  later  age,  and  stating  the  tendency  with  which  it 
was  written.  That  tendency  he  conceives  to  have  been 
apologetic.  It  was  a  defence  of  the  course  pursued  by 
Paul,  and  involved  a  reconcilement  of  that  course  with 
the  conduct  and  principles  of  the  other  apostles.  For 
this  purpose,  Peter  and  his  companions  are  represented 
as  more  liberal  than  they  really  were ;  in  the  passages 
quoted  above,  for  instance,  and  in  their  reception  of 
Paul.     (Acts  xxi.  20-25.)     On  the  other  side,  Paul  is 


238 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


described  as  showing  a  greater  conformity  to  the  Jewish 
law  than  was  consistent  with  his  character.*  (xvi.  3  ; 
xviii.  18;  xxi.  20.)  History  is  thus  made  to  bend  to 
theory  ;  the  clear  princiiile  hiid  down  in  the  Book  of 
Acts,  that  tlie  Jewish  Christians  should  observe  the  cus- 
toms of  their  nation,  but  that  the  Gentiles  were  not  to 
be  required  to  become  Jews  (xxi.  20,  25) ,  is  represented 
as  a  compromise  imagined  by  a  later  fabulist,  and  Paul's 
own  statement,  in  one  of  his  unquestioned  Epistles,  that 
he  had  pursued  a  conciliatory  course  towards  all  (1  Cor. 
ix.  19-22),  is  utterly  disregarded. 

•We  have  to  remark  upon  this  theory,  that  it  supposes, 
on  the  part  of  the  early  Christians,  an  astonishing  readi- 
ness to  be  deceived.  If  one  should  at  this  day  write  a 
life  of  Dr.  Channing,  representing  him  to  have  been 
always  in  accord  with  the  theologians  of  Andover,  it 
would  not  find  unopposed  reception  as  authentic  history. 
Dr.  Baur  is  undoubtedly  correct  in  the  opinion,  that 
the  powerful  mind  of  Paul  saw,  more  distinctly  than 
the  Jewish  Christians  in  general,  the  universal  character 
of  the  religion  he  had  adopted,  and  the  necessity  of 
emancipating  it  from  Jewish  forms.  Nor  are  the  con- 
troversy that  soon  arose  upon  this  subject,  and  the  ex- 
istence of  some  difference  of  opinion  and  conduct,  even 
among  the  apostles  themselves,  new  discoveries  to  any 
who  have  read  with  attention  the  Acts  and  the  Epistle 
to  the  Galatians.  Dr.  Baur's  development  of  this  con- 
troversy, and  his  comments  on  its  connection  with  the 
Epistle  just  named,  and  with  others,  are  highly  interest- 
m<r  and  instructive.     Especially  so  is  his  account  of  the 

*  Baur.     Paulus,  der  Apostel  Jusu  Christi,  pages  C,  7,  129,  &c. 


Ill 


■I 


111 


";' 


baur's  view  of  the  acts. 


239 


Epistle  to  the  Eomans,  in  which  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  brought  the  great  question  between  himself  and 
his  opponents  before  the  judgment  of  the  church  in 
Rome ;  a  church  which  originated  in  the  number  of 
Jewish  converts,  who,  from  various  causes,  had  met 
together  in  the  capital  of  the  world ;  a  church  which 
was  already  assuming  metropolitan  importance  from  its 
strength  and  position  ;  a  church  at  once  Jewish  in  its 
origin,  and  liberal  from  its  locality,  and  which  was  thus 
well  fitted  to  hear  and  pass  judgment  on  the  mighty 
plea.*  That  plea  related  to  the  question.  Is  the  Jew  • 
superior,  and  the  Gentile  inferior ;  or  are  both  alike  in 
their  spiritual  wants,  and  in  the  application  to  both  of 
the  salvation  brought  by  Jesus  Christ?  And  on  the 
decision  of  this  the  momentous  result  depended,  whether 
Christianity  should  thenceforth  be  the  religion  of  an 
inconsiderable  Jewish  sect,  or  that  of  the  civilized 
world. 

Thus  far  we  have  assented  to  the  representations  of 
this  able  writer,  and  have  been  well  pleased  to  render 
him  that  praise  which  he  deserves,  as  setting  in  clearer 
light  views,  which,  though  not  unknown  before,  seem 
in  his  pages  to  possess  the  beauty  of  originality.  But 
when  he  represents  the  earlier  apostles  themselves  as 
combining  with  those  who  opposed  the  authority  of  Paul ; 
when  he  dwells  upon  the  incidental  reproof  to  Peter 
(Gal.  ii.  11-14),  as  a  decided  breach  between  the  two 
apostles,  a  deadly  offence  that  was  never  forgotten  nor 
forgiven  by  the  Jewish  disciples  ;  when  he  imagines  the 

♦  Baur.    Dfis  Christentlmm  und  die  Christliche  Kirclie  der  drei 
ersten  Jahrhunderte,  pages  G2,  63. 


240 


EVIDENCES  OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


baur's  view  of  the  acts. 


241 


party  "of  Cephas,"  and  that  "of  Christ,"  in  the  Corin- 
thian church  (1  Cor.  i.  12)  to  have  been  opponents  of 
the  apostle,  sustained  by  the  authority  of  his  great  rival ; 
when  he  represents  the  violence  committed  against  Paul 
at  Jerusalem  (Actsxxi.  27)  as  the  act  of  Jewish  Chris- 
tians, —  we  must  strongly  express  our  dissent.  We 
regard  the  author  as  following  out  his  theory  to  results 
not  only  needlessly  dishonorable  to  the  early  disciples, 
but  contrary  to  the  clear  evidence  of  history.  Accord- 
ing to  the  representations,  in  the  Book  of  Acts,  of  the 
council  at  Jerusalem  (chap,  xv.),  and  of  the  reception 
of  Paul  at  his  last  visit  (xxi.  17-25),  the  conduct  of 
the  primitive  Christians  presented  a  most  beautiful  ex- 
ample of  mutual  liberality  among  persons  of  different 
circumstances  and  habits  of  thouirht. 

The  account  given  in  the  Acts  of  the  acquiescence 
of  the  original  apostles  in  the  liberty  accorded  to  the 
Gentile  Christians,  is  confirmed  by  Paul  himself  in  the 
very  passage  which  is  the  principal  support  of  Baur's 
theory.  (Gal.  ii.  11— 14. )  The  very  cause  of  the  reproof 
fjiven  to  Peter  at  Antioch  was,  not  that  he  was  the 
champion  of  the  Jewish  party,  but  that  he  had  not  cour- 
age to  maintain  the  liberal  stand  he  had  at  first  taken. 
This  vacillation  is  as  consistent  with  the  weakness  which 
showed  itself  occasionally  in  Peter's  character,  as  his 
supposed  personal  hostility  and  official  opposition  to 
Paul,  on  account  of  that  reproof,  are  inconsistent  with 
his  general  nobleness  and  conscientious  spirit.  That 
the  stricter  Jews  were  uneasy  at  the  conduct  of  the 
Gentile  converts,  and  stiii  more  at  that  of  some  Jewish 
Christians  livinij  amonfr  tiie  Gentiles,  is  evident  from 
the  Acts  and  the  Epistles.     That  persons  who  came  well 


i.J* 


recommended  from  Jerusalem  to  Corinth,  and  who  were 
probably  worthy  men,  though  narrow-minded  and  in- 
trusive, vv'cre  scandalized  at  the  position  Paul  had  taken, 
and  placed  themselves  in  oppc^sition  to  him,  is  implied 
in  some  of  his  expressions.  (2  Cor.  iii.  1.)  But  that 
these  persons  were  sent  by  the  other  apostles,  and  es- 
pecially by  Peter,  to  watch,  oppose,  and  censure  him, 
on  account  of  his  more  liberal  views,  arc  inferences,  in 
our  opinion,  not  win-ranted  by  the  expressions  of  the 
apostle,  and  inconsistent  with  the  best  historical  infor- 
mation we  possess. 

The  wildness  of  Dr.  Baur's  speculation,  when  in 
pursuit  of  a  "tendency,"  may  be  exemplified  in  his 
theory  respecting  Simon,  the  Samaritan  impostor,  men- 
tioned in  Acts  viii.,  and  known  in  history  as  Simon 
Magus.  . 

There  is  an  ancient  book,  the  Clementine  Homilies, 
in  which  Peter  and  Simon  jNlagus  appear  as  interlocutors. 
The  book  is  a  sort  of  religious  romance,  describinij  the 
researches  of  Clement,  a  Boman  youth,  for  the  true 
svstem  of  relii^ion.  This  book,  written  near  the  end  of 
the  second  century,  has  been  sometimes  confused  with 
the  writings  of  the  early  Christian  Father,  Clement  of 
Rome,  but  has  no  true  connection  with  that  author. 
Baur  maintains  that  it  is  written  in  a  strongly  Jewish 
spirit,  and  supposes  that  under  the  name  of  Simon  Ma- 
gus the  writer  intends  to  indicate  Paul.  That  apostle 
is  not,  indeed,  openly  attacked ;  but,  in  the  argument 
of  Peter  against  Simon  Magus,  expressions  are  intro- 
duced which  are  plausibly  applied  to  the  great  teacher 
of  the  Gentiles.  From  this  work,  in  connection  with 
his  own  theory  of  the  division  between  Paul  and  Peter, 

16 


242 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


baur's  view  of  the  acts. 


243 


and   of   the   unhistorical  character   of  the   Acts,  Dr. 
Baur  derives  the  conckision  that  Simon  jNIagus  never 
existed,  but  that  his  character  was  invented  as  a  degra- 
dino-  picture  of  the  Apostle  Paul !  *     Every  discordant 
circumstance  is  easily  brought  into  harmony  when  an 
in<-enious  theory  is  to  be  defended.     Simon  was  a  Sa- 
maritan, Paul  a  Jew  ;  but,  to  remove  this  objection,  we 
are  told  that  Jewish  hate  found  satisfliction  in  rcpresent- 
ino-  its  object  as  belonging  to  the  apostate  race.     Simon 
appears  and  disappears  in  the  Acts  before  Paul's  conver- 
sion.    True,  it  is  replied ;  but  the  writer,  who  himself 
was  friendly  to  Paul,  arranged  it  thus  for  the  very  pur- 
pose of  preventing  that  discovery  which  German  sagacity 
has  worked  out.     The  name  of  Simon,  which  belonged 
to  the  Apostle  Peter,  would  seem  strangely  chosen  to 
designate  his  great  rival ;  but  this,  too,  we  are  to  under- 
stand, had  a  deep  design,  that  a  false  Simon  might 
present  the  stronger  contrast  to  the  true.     But  the  most 
remarkable  instance  of  ingenuity  is  yet  to  be  named. 
How  could  the  Apostle  Paul,  disinterested  and  indepen- 
dent as  he  always  showed  himself*,  be  accused  of  the 
base  attempt  at  bribery,  which  perpetuated  the  name  of 
the  Magian  in  the  crime  of  "  simony  "  ?     Hear  the  reply. 
Did  no°t  Paul,  on  his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem,  bring 
"alms  to  his  nation"   (Acts  xxiv.   17)   which  he  had 
collected  among  the   Gentile  converts,  far  and  wide? 
(Eom.  XV.  26-31 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  1-4.)     And  would  not 
Jewish-Christian  malice  represent  this  as  an  endeavor 
to  bribe  the  brethren  at  Jerusalem  to  a  recognition  of 
his  usurped  apostolical  authority? 

*  Das  Christentbum,  p.  91. 


■.i 


! 


Pl 


It  is  all  clear  then.  Simon  the  Magian  is  turned  into 
a  shadow  ;  his  attempt  at  bribery  was  really  Paul's  noble 
charity.  How  it  was  received,  we  are  left,  indeed,  in 
some  doubt.  According  to  the  account  in  Acts  xxi. 
17-20,  it  was  received  very  graciously.  AVe  hear  noth- 
ing there  of  any  one  replying  to  the  offer,  "  Thy  money 
perish  with  thee,"  as  Peter  is  represented  as  replying  to 
Simon  Magus.  But  the  tradition  which  did  not  scruple 
to  alter  the  offender's  name,  nation,  character,  and 
crime,  would  find  no  diflftculty  in  so  slight  a  thing  as 
chann-ing  a  gracious  acceptance  into  a  stern  rejection. 

This  tradition,  wicked  as  it  was  in  these  changes, 
appears  to  us,  in  one  respect,  singularly  merciful.  Cal- 
umny, in  general,  delights  in  ascribing  to  its  ol)jcct 
things  which  he  did  not  do  ;  but  calumny,  in  this  in- 
stance, ascribes  what  Paul  did  to  an  imaginary  person  : 
no,  not  what  Paul  did,  but  what  his  enemies  wished  to 
have  it  believed  that  he  did.  We  doubt  if  any  one 
could  obtain  damages  for  slander  against  a  person  who 
had  told  false  stories,  not  about  him,  but  about  a  non- 
entity. 

The  reason  for  which  the  malice  of  PauFs  opponents 
is  supposed  to  have  taken  this  singular  way  of  express- 
ing itself,  is  not  less  remarkable.  They  vv^ould  not  name 
Paul  as  the  object  of  their  slander,  because  they  desired 
that  his  memory  should  utterly  perish  from  the  earth.* 
These  slanderers  were,  indeed,  in  a  difficult  position. 
Their  hate  to  the  apostle  prompted  two  inconsistent 
proceedings,  —  to  treat  him  with  silent  contempt,  so  that 
his  name  should  be  forgotten  ;  and  to  blacken  his  memory 

*  Das  Christentlmm,  p.  105. 


244 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


bv  fVilse  charges.  The  manner  in  which  they  solved  the 
difficulty  was  in-enious.  They  said  nothing  against  the 
apostle,  but  brought  their  charges  against  a  man  ot 
straw'  But,  unfortunately  for  their  object,  Europe 
remembered  its  great  teacher  in  despite  of  their  silence 
and  their  man  of  straw  bore  patiently  the  whole  w'^ight 
of  their  calumnies  for  century  after  century,  till  the 
Tiibingen  school  discovered  for  whom  the  burden  was 
really  intended. 


baub's  view  op  the  epistles. 


245 


CHAPTER  XV. 
Baur's  View  of  the  Epistles. 

IYe  have  examined,  in  the  two  preceding  chapters, 
the  opinions  of  Dr.  F.  C.  Baur  with  regard  to  the 
authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  authenticity 
of  the  book  of  Acts.  We  propose  now  to  consider  his 
views  in  relation  to  some  of  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 

Dr.  Baur  receives  as  genuine  the  most  important 
letters  of  the  great  apostle  —  those  to  the  Romans, 
Corinthians,  and  Galatians.  In  this  he  adds  his  tes- 
timony to  that  of  Strauss,  who,  in  a  passage  already 
quoted  (page  151),  characterizes  the  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  as  "unquestionably  genuine,"  and  declares 
that  it  establishes  the  fact,  "  that  many  members  of  the 
primitive  Church,  especially  the  apostles,  were  convinced 
that  they  had  witnessed  appearances  of  the  risen  Christ." 
AVe  are  accustomed  to  consider  the  four  evangelists  as 
the  historical  witnesses  of  our  f\iith ;  but  here  is  a  tes- 
timony to  its  greatest  miracle  from  another  source,  not 
less  distinct  and  authoritative  than  theirs  ;  and  its  genu- 
ineness is  certified  by  those  very  writers  who  have  ex- 
pended the  greatest  learning  and  ingenuity  to  invalidate 
the  statements  of  the  Gospels. 

These  Epistles  being  admitted,  there  remain,  as  usu- 
ally ascribed  to  St.  Paul,  the  numerous  shorter  ones, 
and  that  to  the  Hebrews.     With  regard  to  the  last, 


A 


246 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


baur's  view  op  the  epistles. 


247 


doubts  have  been  entertained  from  a  very  early  age. 
The  others,  however,  have,  from  the  same  antiquity, 
been  handed  down  as  genuine.  We  do  not  propose  to 
examine  the  claims  of  all,  but  to  consider  the  ground 
on  which  Dr.  Baur  rejects  the  Epistles  to  the  Ephesians 
and  Cok)ssians. 

His  discussion  of  this  subject  is  contained  in  a  vol- 
ume, the  title  of  which,  translated,  stands  as  follows  : 
"Paul,  the  Apostle  of  Jesus  Christ :  his  Life  and  Ac- 
tions, his  Letters  and  his  Doctrine.  Stuttgard  :  1845." 
The  critic  admits,  in  speaking  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  that  its  Pauline  origin  has  never,  till  re- 
centlv,  been  questioned  ;  and  a  similar  admission  would 
undoubtedly  be  made  with  respect  to  Colossians.  His 
argument  against  them  is  derived,  not  from  adverse 
testimony,  l)ut  from  what  he  considers  the  indications 
presented  by  their  contents. 

In  the  first  place,  he  reasons,  from  the  strong  resem- 
blance  between  Ephesians   and  Colossians,  against  the 
genuineness  of  one,  if   not  of   both.      The  former  he 
judi^^es  to  be  an  expansion  of  the  latter,  or  the  latter  an 
abridgment  of  the  former.     He  prefers  the  first-named 
hypothesis,  because  Colossians,  though  shorter,  contains 
gome  elements  additional  to  what  the  two  Epistles  have 
in  common,  especially  in  those  local  and  personal  allu- 
sions which  contribute  most  to  the  aspect  of  a  genuine 
work.      Whatever,   then,   be  the  origin  of  Colossians, 
its  sister  Epistle  is  considered  to  be  invalidated.     The 
apostle,  with  his  strong,  original  mind,  would  not  have 
written  the    same  thing  in   substance  to  two  different 

churches. 

This   is    a    singular   argument.      In   general,   if  we 


I 


would  defend  the  genuineness  of  a  book,  we  consider 
its  resemblance  in  thought  and  expression  to  another 
work,  ascribed  to  the  same  author,  as  something  in  its 
^^^vor  — unless,  indeed,  the  similarity  be  that  of  servile 
imitation.     Of   such    similarity  the    pretended   Epistle 
to  the  Laodiceans  is  an  example.     This,  which  may  be 
found  among  the  Apocrypha  of  the  New  Testament,  is 
a  mere  cento  of  texts  from  the  genuine  writings  of  St. 
Paul.     Not  a  trace  of  originality  enlivens  the  tarnished 
lustre  of  its  stolen  thoughts.     How  different  this  from 
the  Epistles  now  before  us  !     The  fourth  and  following 
chapters  of  Ephesians  may  be  regarded  as  an  amplifi- 
cation of  the  third  and  fourth  of  Colossians  ;  but  the 
amplification  is  from  a  master-hand.     The  warning  in 
the  fourth  chapter,  "Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not;  let  not 
the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath,"  and  the  description 
of  the  Christian's  spiritual  armor  in  the  sixth  chapter,  — 
both  of  which  are  found  in  Ephesians  alone,  —bear  the 
same  stamp  of  a  great,  original,  and  holy  mind  as  the  ex- 
hortations to  parents  and  children,  masters  and  servants, 
which  are  common  to  the  two ;  and,  if  it  be  thought 
that  Colossians  was  the   copy,  from   what  passage  in 
Ephesians  did  the  copyist  derive  the  bold  and  beautiful 
figures   in  which  he  prompts   to   follow   Christ   in   his 
arcension  by  seeking  all   high  things  —  regarding  our 
earthly,  sinful  life  as  no  more  existing,  and  our  true 
life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God?      (Col.  iii.  1-4.)     This 
last  thought  is  indeed  truly  Pauline,  in  the  same  vein 
with  Rom.  viii.   10,  and  2  Cor.  v.    14;  yet  it  is  not 
copied  from  those  passages,  but  has  an  original  beauty 

of  its  own. 

Our  critic,  ho\^ever,  does  not  hold  that  one  of  these 


248 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


baur's  view  of  the  epistles. 


249 


Epistles  is  genuine  and  the  other  forged,  but  condemns 
both  together.  In  so  doing,  he  docs  not  appear  to  per- 
ceive that  he  encounters  the  very  ditficuhy  which  he 
had  just  urged  against  the  connnon  belief.  It  is  cer- 
tainly very  unlikely  that  two  persons  tehuuld,  without 
consent,  have  forged  two  pretended  Epistles  so  like 
each  otlicr  as  these ;  nor  does  it  seem  credible,  that, 
wlicn  one  had  forged  Colossians,  another  counterfeiter 
shoukl  have  received  this  base  coinage  as  true,  and 
given  us  forgery  upon  forgery.  The  only  supposition 
remaining  for  Dr.  Baur  is,  that  the  pretended  author 
repeated  himself — the  supposition  which  he  had  already 
repudiated  as  ap[)lied  to  St.  Paul.  It  would  be,  indeed, 
loss  probable  in  the  case  of  a  forger  than  in  that  of  the 
apostle;  for  the.  latter,  writing  naturally,  would  not 
guard  himself  against  repeating  the  same  thoughts  in 
letters  to  ditt'erent  persons,  while  one  who  was  fabri- 
cating false  Ei)istlos  would  take  especial  care  against 
whatever  might  bring  his  work  into  suspicion. 

But  the  great  argument  of  Dr.  Baur  against  the  gen- 
uineness of  these  two  Epistles  is  drawn  from  what  he 
considers    the    indications    of    Gnosticism    which    they 

contain. 

It  is  difficult  for  us,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  to 
conceive  the  state  of  mind,  that,  in  the  second  century, 
found  its  expression  in  the  strange  mythology  of  Gnosti- 
cism. Perhaps  we  can  imagine  it  best  by  remembering, 
that,  although  the  fables  of  the  old  religion  had  then 
ceased  to  be  objects  of  faith  to  the  cultivated  classes, 
they  were  still  objects  of  admiration.  Mr.  Lecky,  in 
his  recent  "  History  of  the  Rise  and  Influence  of  Ra- 
tionalism," has  well  pointed  out,  how,  in  Greece  and 


II 


:> 


U 


1,  ■ 


Rome,  as  subsequently  in  mediieval  Italy,  the  esthetic 
element  took  the    place   of   the  superstitious,   and  the 
forms  that   had   once  been  worshipped   as   divine  were 
afterwards  scarce  less  adored  as  beautiful  or  majestic. 
Hence  we  may  conceive  how,  when  cultivated  Greeks 
embraced  Christianity,  they  missed,  in  the  new  religion, 
somethin«r  which  liad  f\iscinated  their  taste,  though  it 
had  not  won  their  belief.     They  had  nothing  of  that 
horror   of  idolatry   which  the   Old   Testament   had   un- 
parted  to  the  Jews.     Probably,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
considered  the  worship  of  images  the  only  method  by 
which  religion  could  be  rendered  acceptable  to  the  un- 
educated masses.     For  themselves,  they  knew,  as  well 
as  St.  Paul,  "that  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world ;  "  but 
they  had  been  used  to  admire  the  majestic  forms  en- 
shrined in  the  temples,  and  to  allegorize  the  stories  told 
by  the  poets.     They  had  formed  thus  a  new  mythology 
for  themselves,  whose  deities  were  not  Jupiter,  Minerva, 
and  Venus,    but  Power,   Wisdom,    and    Beauty;    and 
they   thou-ht  — or    rather,    perhaps,    without    deliber- 
ately thinking,  they  felt  — that  Christianity  would  be 
improved    by    annexing   to    it   a  mythology  somewhat 

similar. 

And,  indeed,  the  systems  they  invented,  strange  and 
obscure  as  they  are,  are  not  without  something  of  a 
poetic  charm.  *  They  represented  the  Infinite,  in  the 
solemn  majesty  of  his  eternal  existence,  which  none 
shared  with  him  but  venerable  Silence.  From  these 
proceeded  Mind,  the  Only-begotten,  and  his  sister  and 
partner.  Truth.  With  a  long  succession  of  beings  such 
as  these  did  Valentine  and  his  fellow-Gnostics  people 
the  "Pleroma,"  the  Fulness,  the  Perfection.     One  of 


250 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


baur's  view  of  the  epistles. 


251 


these  aeons,  named  Sophia  or  Wisdom,  endeavoring  too 
ambitiously  to  comprehend  the  Infinite,  was  cast  out 
for  a  time  from  the  Pleroma ;  and,  in  her  sufferings, 
relieved  by  the  efforts  of  the  teon  Christ,  we  find  ob- 
scurely set  forth  the  strugglings  of  the  human  spirit, 
and  the  divine  aid  comnumicated  by  the  Redeemer. 
One  might  almost  think,  that  the  Gnostics,  while  uncon- 
sciously depicting  the  ill  success  of  their  own  ambitious 
theorizing,  had  uttered  a  prophecy  which  was  to  find 
its  fulfilment  in  the  Hegelian  philosopliy  of  Germany. 
There  Wisdom  endeavors  to  comprehend  the  Infinite, 
deciding  that  he  '■  only  comes  to  self-consciousness  in 
man,"  and,  losing  itself  in  a  labyrinth  of  words,  wan- 
ders in  darkness,  until  it  finds  the  light  that  Christ  alone 


can  give. 


Few  would  imagine,  in  reading  the  Epistles  to  the 
Ephesians  and  Colossians,  that  any  ingenuity  would  see 
in  them  marks  of  the  strange.  Gnostic  system  of  poly- 
theistic Chj^tianity.  Yet  so  it  is.  Dr.  Baur  discovers 
such  tri|G^s  in  various  passages  of  the  two  Ej)istles,  but 
chiefly  in  the  first  chapter  of  Colossians.  "  By  him," 
the  apostle  says,  "  were  all  things  created  that  are  in 
heaven  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible, 
whether  they  be  thrones  or  dominions,  or  principalities 
or  powers."  In  these  wortls  the  ajons  are  supposed  to 
be  referred  to.  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him 
should  all  fulness "  (the  whole  Pleroma)  "  dwell." 
These  verses  will  sufficiently  exemplify  the  argument 
which,  with  great  ingenuity,  fixes  upon  expressions 
found  in  these  Epistles,  and  used  also  by  the  Gnostic 
writers,  and  concludes  therefrom  that  these  Epistles 
were  written,  not  by  St.  Paul,  but  by  some  one  at  a 


later  period,  when  the  Gnostic  system  had  become,  to 
a  considerable  extent,  developed. 

Thus,  some  thousand  years  hence,  may  some  student, 
examining  the  history  of  this  country  with  a  strong 
propensity  to  doubt  wherever  doubt  is  possible,  question 
the  genuineness  of  an  ancient  document  that  purports  to 
be  "Articles  of  Confederation  "  among  the  thirteen  origi- 
nal States,  —  that  form  of  union  under  whicli  our 
Revolutionary  war  was  waged,  and  our  independence 
established.  "  Confederation  !  "  he  will  say  ;  "  Confed- 
erate States  !  —  we  know  well  to  what  period  such  ex- 
pressions belong.  They  date  from  the  civil  war  of 
1861-65.  The  document  is  evidently  spurious.  It 
was  forged  by  some  writer  on  the  Southern  side  in  that 
war,  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening  in  the  minds  of 
his  party  the  conviction  that  they  were  maintaining  the 
principles  of  their  fathers."  As  it  may  then  be  replied, 
that  ''Confederation"  was  an  English  word  in  common 
use  before  1861,  so  may  the  answer  be  given  to  Dr. 
Baur,  that  "  Pleroma,"  meaning  fulness,  was-(^  Greek 
word  in  common  use  long  before  the  strange  mythology 
of  the  Gnostics  was  invented.  It  is  a  word  in  common 
use  by  St.  Paul  in  those  Epistles  which  Dr.  Baur  him- 
self acknowledges  to  be  genuine.  (See  Rom.  xi.  12, 
25;  XV.  29.     Gal.  iv.  4.) 

However  the  apostle  may  use  terms  which  were  after- 
wards employed  by  the  Gnostics,  the  doctrine  he  lays 
down  is  essentially  different  from  theirs.  Their  system 
divided  the  honors  which  it  rendered  among  a  numerous 
family  of  aions  :  the  apostle  recognizes  but  one  "  image 
of  the  invisible  God,"  in  whom  "it  pleased  the  Father 
that  all  fulness   should  dwell."     Before  this  essential 


252 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


baur's  view  of  the  epistles. 


253 


difference,  —  the  difference  between  Christianity  and 
polytheism,  —  a  mere  verbal  similarity  becomes  insig- 
nificant. 

It  appears  to  us  that  the  free  employment,  in  these 
Epistles,  of  terms  which  the  Gnostics  afterwards  appro- 
priated, is  a  proof,  not  against  their  genuineness,  but 
strongly  in  its  favor.  Had  these  works  been  written 
after  the  development  of  Gnosticism,  they  would  either 
have  been  unquestionably  on  its  side,  or  have  been  care- 
fully guarded  against  all  suspicion  of  assent  to  it.  Had 
the  writer  been  favorable  to  the  new  sect,  we  should 
have  had  at  least  its  earliest  ideas  introduced  ;  such  as 
the  fancy  that  the  God  of  the  Jews  was  not  the  Supreme 
God,  and  the  fancy  that  the  reon  Christ  withdrew  from 
the  man  Jesus  before  his  crucifixion.  Had  the  writer 
been  unfavorable  to  Gnosticism,  it  is  not  probable  that 
he  would  have  tranquilly  used,  in  familiar  senses,  words 
which  had  become  identified  with  a  system  of  error. 
So  early  did  Gnosticism  appear  in  the  Church,  that 
books  written  in  entire  unconsciousness  of  its  existence 
must  have  a  date  assigned  them  very  near  the  age  of 
the  apostles. 

The  resemblance  of  the  texts  we  have  quoted,  and  of 
other  portions  of  these  Epistles,  to  Gnostic  thought  and 
modes  of  expression,  may  be  accounted  for  by  a  differ- 
ent theory  from  that  of  Dr.  13aur.  The  Gnostics  may 
have  derived  their  forms  of  language  from  the  passages 
in  question,  which  it  is  known  they  quoted  in  their  con- 
troversial writings.  Perhaps,  also,  the  train  of  thought 
which  at  length  resulted  in  Gnosticism  had  bcfj^un  to 
develop  itself  in  the  apostle*s  time,  and  had  influenced 
the   common   modes    of   expression.      These   he    used 


i. 


f'- 


il 


because  they  were  used  by  those  around  liim,  and  had 
not  yet  become  connected  with  a  system  of  error. 

The  two  Epistles  we  have  noticed,  and  the  remaining 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  are  by  no  means  essen- 
tial to  the  evidence  of  Christianity.  They  are,  however, 
too  valuable  to  be  lost ;  too  full  of  holy  lessons  for  us  to 
resign  them,  without  examination,  to  the  claims  of  a 
rash  and  destructive  criticism.  For  the  purpose  of  this 
work,  the  specimen  now  presented,  of  the  arguments 
brought  against  them  by  the  modern  school  of  scepti- 
cism, may  be  sufficient. 


i 


^^'^•''^^'^■'^r  "]Mh 


254 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

The  ArocRYPiiAL  Xew  Test.uient. 

A  NEW  edition  of  tlic  book  bearing  this  title  has 
recently  been  published  in  Boston.  It  is  a  reprint  of 
that  brought  out  about  half  a  century  since,  by  Hone, 
in  London,  and  of  which  a  Boston  edition  of  1832  is 
now  before  us.  There  are  other  collections  of  dodVi- 
ments  thus  entitled,  in  the  ancient  laniruajxes,  from  the 
original  one  by  Fabricius  to  the  recent  labors  of  the 
German  scholars,  Thilo  and  Tischendorf;  and  a  new 
edition  in  English  has  recently  appeared  abroad. 

No  reasonable  objection  can  be  made  to  the  publica- 
tion of  these  old  writings,  either  in  their  original  form 
or  translated  into  English.  But  the  collection  made  by 
Hone  was  accompanied  by  prefaces  and  remarks  of 
which  the  purpose  w^as  obvious  —  to  discredit  the  Chris- 
tian Scriptures.  The  idea  was  suggested  that  our  re- 
ligion is  founded  on  a  mass  of  legendary  accounts  ;  that 
of  these,  some  were  arbitrarily  selected  by  early  church 
councils  or  individual  leaders,  to  be  preserved  with  care 
and  honored  as  the  word  of  God,  while  the  rest,  possess- 
ing equal  claims,  were  rejected,  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
put  out  of  sight.  Thus  speaks  the  preface  to  the  first 
edition,  reprinted  in  those  whicli  followed  :  — 

"  After  the  writings  contained  in  the  New  Testament 
were  selected  from  the  numerous  Gospels  and  Epistles 


THE   APOCRYPHAL   NEW   TESTAMENT. 


255 


then  in  existence,  what  became  of  the  books  that  were 
rejected  by  the  compilers?" 

The  utter  falsity  of  this  view  is  discernible  on  a  slight 
inspection  of  the  evidence  afforded  by  ancient  Christian 
writers.  This  has  been  presented  in  this  work,  and  in 
the  "  Manual,"  which  preceded  it.  Many  of  the  Christian 
writers  who  enter  into  this  subject  lived  more  than  a 
century  before  the  Council  of  Nice,  at  which,  this  author 
would  have  us  believe,  the  "selection  "  was  made.  The 
personal  knowledge  of  several  among  them  would  go 
back  a  century  and  a  half  before  that  Council.  They 
speak  of  our  present  Gospels  and  other  Scriptures  as 
genuine  and  authentic,  and  do  not  thus  speak  of  the 
documents  that  are  brought  forward  to  compete  with 
them.  They  speak  thus,  not  referring  to  any  decree  of 
a  preceding  council,  but  simply  as  people  mention  facts 
that  are  well  known  to  themselves  and  to  all  around 
them. 

The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Lamson,  one  of  our  foremost  schol- 
ars, especially  in  the  department  of  ecclesiastical  history, 
speaks  thus  of  the  edition  to  which  we  refer,  in  an  arti- 
cle in  the  "Christian  Examiner"  for  March,  1833. 

"  The  compiler  of  the  Apocryphal  Testament,  wdio  is 
evidently  hostile  to  Christianity,  designs  to  convey  the 
impression  tliat  the  books  now  composing  our  New  Tes- 
tament w^ere  arbitrarily  selected  from  a  mass  of  writings 
possessing  the  same  or  similar  claims  to  respect.  This 
is  the  object  of  the  prefatory  notices  to  tlie  several  pieces, 
in  constructing  which  he  has  drawn  largely  on  Jones 
('  New  and  Full  Method  of  settling  the  Canonical  Au- 
thority of  the  New  Testament ') ,  often  taking  from  him 
whole  sentences  without  acknowledjrinent.    But  these  are 


t^- 


'-cr-1lr-^-r--i^. 


256 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


80  adroitly  strung  togetlier,  with  the  help  of  a  little 
coloring,  and  a  dexterous  use  of  the  arts  of  insinuation 
and  suppression,  that  they  can  hardly  fail  to  perplex  and 
mislead  the  unlearned  reader.  Such  disinirenuous  arti- 
fice  requires  to  be  exposed.  We  cannot  too  strongly 
protest  against  its  use.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  any 
real  lover  of  truth  can  ever  resort  to  it.  Such  wisdom 
Cometh  not  from  above." 

If  the  volume  was  published  free  from  these  insidious 
prefaces  and  remarks,  we  should  welcome  its  ap|)earance 
as  an  important  aid  to  the  evidences  of  Christianity. 
Let  these  old  documents  be  diffused  far  and  wide.  Let 
every  candid  doubter  peruse  them,  and  compare  them 
with  the  genuine  New  Testament.  We  have  no  fear 
for  the  result. 

There  are  portions  of  this  volume,  however,  which 
are  not  properly  included  under  its  title.  We  receive 
the  New  Testament  as  containing  the  earliest  records 
of  Christian  history,  and  what  remains  of  the  writings 
of  its  earliest'  preachers.  A  collection  called  The  Apoc- 
ryphal New  Testament  should  comprise,  then,  only  such 
documents  as  claim  a  similar  character.  But  the  writ- 
ings ascribed  to  the  "Apostolical  Fathers,"  —  Clement, 
Ignatius,  Polycarp,  and  Hernias,  —  whether  genuine 
or  not,  belong  to  a  later  period,  and  shuuld  have  no 
place  in  such  a  collection.  The  letter  bearing  the  name 
of  Barnabas  has  a  higher  claim,  its  reputed  author  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the  earliest  preachers,  and  being  styled 
an  apostle  in  Acts  xiv.  14.  This  letter  has  gained  in 
the  opinion  of  scholars  since  the  discovery  that  it  forms 
a  part  of  the  ancient  Sinaitic  manuscript.  But  the  in- 
ternal evidence  is  against  it,  as  has  been  well  stated  by 


I 


THE   APOCRYPHAL  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


257 


f 


'i 


Mr.  Norton,  in  the  first  volume  of  his  work  on  the 
"  Genuineness  of  the  Gospels."  We  will  glance  in  suc- 
cession at  those  portions  of  this  book  which  are  more 
|)roperly  classed  under  the  title  "Apocrypha  of  the 
New  Testament." 

The  first  of  these  is  "  The  Gospel  of  the  Birth  of 
Mary."  This,  Dr.  Lamson  tells  us,  in  the  article  al- 
ready referred  to,  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  forgery  by 
Seleucus  or  Lucius,  a  disciple  of  Marcion,  in  the  second 
century.  It  is  mentioned,  by  Epiphanius  in  the  fourth 
century,  as  "an  impudent  forgery."  It  tells  us  that  Jo- 
achim and  his  wife  Anna,  being  without  offspring,  were 
comforted  by  angels,  and  assured  of  the  birth  of  a  holy 
child.  Mary  is  born  to  them,  and  is  marked  with  es- 
pecial proofs  of  divine  favor.  She  is  at  length  to  be 
betrothed,  and  all  the  unmarried  men  of  the  lineajxe  of 

'  c5 

David  are  required  to  present  their  rods  to  the  high 
priest,  that  he  may  know,  by  a  miraculous  sign,  who  is 
the  predestined  bridegroom.  The  aged  Joseph  at  first 
withdraws  his  rod,  but,  being  called  on,  presents  it 
again,  when  the  holy  dove  descends  and  alights  upon 
it.     The  narrative  ends  with  the  birlh  of  Christ. 

The  same  story  is  told,  with  variations,  in  the  second 
document,  —  "The  Protevangclion," — ascribed  to  the 
Apostle  James  the  Less,  but  really  as  destitute  of  au- 
thority as  its  predecessor.  From  this  we  extract  the 
following  account  of  what  Joseph  saw  when  the  hour 
was  come  for  the  birth  of  Jesus. 

"  As  I  was  going,"  said  Joseph,  "  I  saw  the  clouds 
astonished,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air  stopping  in  the 
midst  of  their  flight.  And  I  looked  down  towards  the 
earth,  and  saw  a  table  spread,  and  working  people  sit- 

17 


258 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


ting  around  it ;  but  their  hands  were  upon  the  table, 
and  they  did  not  move  to  eat.     They  who  had  meat  in 
their  mouths  did   not  eat ;  they  who  lifted  their  hands 
up  to  their  heads  did  not  draw  them  back,  and  they  who 
lifted  them  up  to  their  mouths  did  not  put  anythin^i"  in  ; 
but  all  their  faces  were  fixed  upwards."     The  sheep  and 
kids  were  equally  motionless,  "  and  the  shepherd  lifted 
up  his  hand  to  smite  them,  and  his  hand  continued  up." 
From  this  we  pass  to  still  greater  puerility  in  "  The 
First  Gospel  of  the  Infancy."     In  Thilo's  edition  this  is 
given  in  Arabic,  with  a  Latin  translation.      It  obtained 
a  degree  of  credit  in  the  East,  and  appears   to  have 
been  in  the  hands  of  Mohammed  and  his  coadjutors  in 
writing  the  Koran.      It  purports  to  be  from  "The  Book 
of  Joseph  the  High  Priest,  called  by  some  Caiaphas"  — 
a  personage  from  whom  we  should  not  have  expected 
an  attestation  of  miracles  wrought  by  Christ.     The  first 
it  records  is,  that  the   infant  liedeemer  spoke   in  his 
cradle,  saying  to  his  mother,  "  Mary,  I  am  Jesus,  the 
Son  of  God,  that  Word  which  thou  didst  bring  forth 
according  to  the  declaration  of   the  Angel  Gabriel  to 
thee,  and  my  Father  hath  sent  me  for  the  salvation  of 
the  world."     At  the  arrival  of  Joseph  in  Egypt  with  the 
child  Jesus,  an  idol  announces,  "The  Unknown  God  is 
come  hither,  who  is  truly  God,"  and  forthwith  falls  from 
its  pedestal.    Passing  over  a  number  of  legends,  some  of 
them  too  revolting  for  our  pages,  we  are  told,  in  chapter 
seven,  of  "a  young  man,  who  had  been  bewitched,  and 
turned  into  a  mule,  miraculously  cured  by  Christ  being 
put  upon  his  back,  and  married  to  the  girl  who  had 
been  cured  of  leprosy."     We  have,   in  chapter  eight, 
the  story  of  the  robbers  Titus  and  Dumachus,  as  told 


THE   APOCRYPHAL   NE^V  TESTAMENT. 


259 


f 


\ 


V. 


;i 


in  Longfellow's  "  Golden  Legend ; "  in  chapter  nine, 
"  two  sick  children  cured  by  water  wherein  Christ  was 
washed."  In  chapter  fifteen  is  the  famous  miracle  of 
the  birds  made  by  Jesus  of  clay,  and  gifted  with  life, 
with  the  account  of  wonders  wrought  in  a  dyer's  shop. 
We  next  hear  of  his  assisting  Josej)h  at  his  trade  of  a 
carpenter ;  not  by  ordinary  labor,  but  by  miraculously 
changing  the  size  of  articles  which  Joseph  had  made 
too  small  or  too  large,  especially  a  throne  for  the  king 
of  Jerusalem.  Some  stories  are  added  which  are  not 
without  a  certain  kind  of  beauty  ;  but  these  are  followed 
by  others  as  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  Jesus  as 
with  justice  and  humanity.  Jesus  appears  as  the  tyrant 
of  his  playmates,  putting  to  death  by  his  word  a  boy 
who  had  destroyed  his  fish-pool,  and  another  who  had 
accidentally  run  against  him.  He  appears  next  as  the 
assuminir  teacher  of  his  teachers,  of  whom  one  who  at- 
tempted  to  chastise  him  has  his  hand  withered,  and  dies. 

"The  Second  Gospel  of  the  Infancy,"  bearing  the 
name  of  Thomas,  contains  the  repetition  of  some  of 
these  incidents,  with  some  other  miracles  of  the  vindic- 
tive kind. 

The  letters  between  Jesus  and  Abgarus,  King  of 
Edessa,  are  better  conceived  tlian  most  of  these  apoc- 
ryphal writings;  so  well,  indeed,  that  some  authors  of 
note  have  received  them  as  genuine.  The  prince  in- 
vites the  great  prophet  to  his  city,  which,  he  says,  is 
indeed  small,  but  neat,  and  large  enough  for  them  both  ; 
and  Jesus  declines  in  words  of  dignity  and  kindness. 
Tradition  adds  that  he  presented  his  picture  to  Abgarus, 
and  sent  his  disciple  Thaddeus  to  cure  him  of  his  lep- 
rosy.    We  heal:  this  story  of  Abgarus  first  from  Euse- 


260 


EVIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


bins,  in  the  fourth  century,  who  professes  to  derive  it 
from  the  public  records  of  Edessa.  It  is  unfortunate 
for  its  credit,  however,  that,  if  it  were  true,  it  would 
have  been  of  too  much  importance  to  remain  so  long 
unknown.  It  would  have  been  a  precedent,  given  by 
Jesus  himself,  settUng  the  great  question  about  the  re- 
ception of  heathens  into  the  Christian  Church,  and  must 
have  been  appealed  to  in  such  discussions  as  those  of 
Acts  xi.  and  xv. 

We  come  now  to  "  The  Gospel  of  Nicodemus,  for- 
merly called  the  Acts  of  Pontius  Pilate."  This  is  a 
romance,  which  may  have  been  written  without  the 
intention  of  deceiving.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  any 
one  should  suppose  a  tale  so  utterly  at  variance  with 
history  could  deceive  any  one.  According  to  this  ac- 
count, at  the  trial  of  Jesus,  numbers  of  those  whom  he 
had  miraculously  relieved  gave  evidence  in  his  favor, 
and  the  Roman  standards  bowed  before  him.  After  his 
crucifixion,  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  who  had  been  impris- 
oned, is  miraculously  delivered  ;  the  soldiers  and  other 
persions  give  testimony  to  the  resurrection.  The  Jewish 
Council,  movcil  by  this,  inquire  further  into  the  claims 
they  had  so  decidedly  rejected.  Charinus  and  Lenthius, 
two  young  men  who  had  risen  from  the  dead,  relate  to 
them  what  had  transpired  in  the  spiritual  world  at  the 
crucifixion.  Their  narratives,  given  in  writing,  agree 
in  every  respect ;  and  after  these  are  completed,  the 
writers  vanish.  The  Jewish  priests  and  rulers,  being 
required  by  Pilate,  search  their  sacred  books,  and  de- 
clare their  conviction  that  Jesus,  whom  they  had  cruci- 
fied, "is  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  and  true  and 
Almighty   God."     This    astonishing  confession,   which 


Hi: 


THE  APOCRYPHAL  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


261 


the  whole  history  of  the  Jewish  nation  since  proves  never 
to  have  been  made,  closes  the  "  Gospel  of  Nicodemus," 
as  translated  in  the  book  before  us.  There  is  attached 
to  it,  however,  in  the  Greek  copies,  as  given  in  Thilo's 
and  Tischendorfs  editions,  an  account  of  the  subsequent 
fate  of  Pilate.  That  magistrate  is  summoned  to  Rome, 
examined  before  the  emperor,  and  condemned  to  death 
for  allowing  the  crucifixion  of  Christ.  lie  dies  peni- 
tent, however,  and  his  head  is  received  by  an  angel. 
Another  account,  equally  authentic,  forbids  us  to  rejoice 
in  this  eminent  convert,  but  introduces  to  us  another, 
even  more  distinguished.  According  to  this,  the  em- 
peror in  wrath  commands  Pilate  to  appear  before  him. 
Pilate  comes,  but  has  put  on  the  seamless  robe  of  Christ, 
for  which  the  soldiers  had  cast  lots.  Under  the  charm 
of  this  sacred  garment  the  empefor's  wrath  melts  away, 
and  Pilate  is  twice  ijraciously  received  ;  but  the  c^arment 
being  taken  from  him,  the  cliarm  is  lost,  and  the  em- 
peror sends  him  to  prison,  where  the  unjust  judge  takes 
his  own  life.  It  is  hard  to  dispose  of  the  body,  on 
account  of  the  disturbance  made  by  evil  spirits  wherever 
it  is  deposited ;  but  it  is  finally  left  in  the  wild  recesses 
of  the  Swiss  mountains.  Tiberius,  in  the  most  edifying 
manner,  professes  his  faith  in  the  Savior. 

The  "  Gos[)el  of  Nicodemus "  is  followed  by  the 
"Apostles'  Creed,"  respecting  which,  it  is  suflScient  to 
repeat,  from  the  book  before  us,  the  remark  of  Arch- 
bishop Wake  :  "As  it  is  not  likely  that,  had  any  such 
thing  as  this  been  done  by  the  apostles,  St.  Luke  would 
have  passed  it  by,  without  taking  the  least  notice  of  it, 
80  the  diversity  of  creeds  in  the  ancient  Church,  and 
that  not  only  in  expression,  but  in  some  whole  articles, 


262 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


too,  sufficiently  shows  that  the  Creed  which  wc  call  by 
that  name  was  not  composed  by  the  twelve  apostles, 
much  less  in  the  same  form  in  which  it  now  is." 

"  Tlie  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Laodiccans  "  is  a  letter 
of  nineteen  verses,  made  up  of  sentences  collected  from 
the  genuine  writings  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  evidently  found- 
ed on  the  verse,  Col.  iv.  IG,  where  reference  is  made  to 
such  an  epistle,  now  lost. 

The  Epistles  purporting  to  have  passed  between  Paul 
and  Seneca  are  fourteen  in  number,  and  are  marked  by 
ceremonious  politeness  and  insignificance.  Think  of 
Paul's  cautioning  Seneca  not  to  put  himself  in  danger 
of  the  emperor's  displeasure  by  speaking  in  favor  of  the 
Christians  (chap,  viii.),  and  of  his  regretting  that  he  had 
to  place  his  own  name  before  Seneca's  in  the  ordinary 
Roman  method  of  commencing  a  letter  I  (Chap,  x.) 
Seneca,  on  the  other  hand,  while  complimenting  his 
"  dearest  Paul  "  on  the  loftiness  and  sublimity  of  his  sen- 
timents,  is  somewhat  uneasy  on  the  subject  of  his 
inelegant  Latin  ! 

"The  Acts  of  Paul  and  Thecla"  is  a  romantic  tale, 
written  evidently  after  the  introduction  of  the  false  idea 
of  the  merit  of  celibacy.  Thecla,  a  noble  lady  of 
Iconium,  whose  house  was  next  to  that  in  which  Paul 
preached,  hears  his  exhortations  and  becomes  a  convert. 
She  in  consequence  refuses  to  marry  Thamyris,  to  wdiom 
she  is  betrothed.  She  undergoes  unheard-of  persecu- 
tions, and  is  saved  by  astonishing  miracles.  Fire  will 
not  burn  her,  nor  wild  beasts  devour  her.  Released  at 
length,  she  retires  to  a  desert,  where  she  leads  the  life 
of  a  hermitess.  At  length,  at  ninety,  she  escapes  from 
a  danger  —  not  very  probable  at  that  age  —  by  the  rock 


if  I 


% 


ll" 


\ 


If 


THE  APOCRYPHAL  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


263 


opening,  and  affording  her  a  retreat,  closing  behind  her 
when  she  had  entered  it. 

Such  are  the  Apocrypha  of  the  New  Testament.  Let 
any  one  compare  them  with  the  genuine  records  of  our 
faith,  and  there  needs  no  argument  to  prove  the  differ- 
ence. A  gold  coin  and  a  copper  counterfeit  are  not 
more  easily  distinguished.  Let  us  apply  such  compar- 
ison in  some  particular  instances. 

Among  the  stories  of  the  "  Infancy  "  select  the  best ; 
not  the  revolting  legends  of  cures  wrought  with  baby- 
clothes  or  washing  water,  nor  those  of  childish  anger 
armed  with  divine  power,  but  such  as  that  of  Jesus 
changing  his  playmates  into  sportive  kids,  and  then  re- 
storing them  to  their  proper  forms ;  and  compare  this, 
pretty  as  it  is  in  its  w^ay,  with  the  single  beautiful  inci- 
dent recorded  of  his  childhood  by  Luke  —  that,  in  his 
eagerness  to  learn,  he  staid  over-long  in  the  temple,  in 
company  with  gray-headed  teachers  of  the  law.  We 
see  at  once  which  is  more  worthy  of  the  future  prophet, 
and  of  that  God  who  grants  miraculous  power  only  for 
the  greatest  and  most  serious  purposes. 

Compare  the  trial  of  Jesus  before  Pilate  according 
to  the  "  Gospel  of  Xicodcmus "  with  the  same  trial 
according  to  the  "  Gospel  of  John."  In  the  one, 
Pilate  confuses  himself  with  Herod  (vi.  23),  and  sen- 
tences the  prisoner  in  the  face  of  miracles,  partly  re- 
ported in  evidence,  and  partly  witnessed  with  his  own 
eyes.  In  the  other,  there  is  no  confusion  of  history, 
and  no  testimony  is  given  in  fjivor  of  the  prisoner,  save 
that  of  his  own  innocent  and  glorious  aspect.  The 
obscure  but  suggestive  words  of  Pilate  in  the  genuine 
Gospel,  "What  is  truth?"  are  in  the  false  one  dilated 
into  a  vapid  conversation. 


264 


EVIDENCES   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 


^ye  have  already  compared  the  "  Epistle  to  the  Lao- 
diceans"  witli  the  "Epistle  to  the  Colossians."  The  one 
is  borrowed,  every  sentence  of  it,  from  the  writinn-s  of 
Paul.  The  other,  strongly  as  it  resembles  that  to  the 
Ei)hesians,  has  yet  its  own  distinctive  character.  Read 
the  beautiful  third  chapter,  beginning,  "If  ye,  then,  be 
risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are  above, 
where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of  God  ;  "  and, 
if  you  can,  believe  with  Baur,  that  "  Coiossiaus  "  is  as 
spurious  as  "Laodiceans." 

Compare,  again,  "The  Acts  of  Taul  and  Thecla" 
with  the  "Acts  of  the  Apostles."  In  the  one,  the 
morality  is  false,  the  great  ])rinciple  of  Christianity 
being  made  to  consist  in  a  monastic  asceticism;  the 
miracles  arc  of  the  most  overwhelming  kind,  yet  heathen 
judges  and  i)eoplc  witness  a  succession  of  them  before 
they  cease  from  their  [)crsccuting  rage.  In  the  other, 
our  dealing  is  with  human  beings ;  the  morality  is  pure 
and  healthy  ;  and  the  miracles  which  are  recorded  occur 
at  wide  intervals,  as  signs  and  encouragements,  indeed, 
but  not  as  public  subversions  of  the  order  of  nature. 

The  modern  school  of  scepticism  would  have  us  be- 
lieve that  tlie  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  made 
up  of  legendary  accounts,  forged  or  gathered  by  persons 
who  knew  not  what  was  true  and  what  was  false.  Our 
answer  is,  we  have  such  accounts ;  here  they  are ;  be- 
hold them,  and  see  tlieir  emptiness  !  If  the  Fourth 
Gospel  were  what  you  tell  us,  it  would  be  like  the  "  Gos- 
pels of  the  Infancy,"  or  the  "  Gospel  of  N^icodemus." 
If  Christianity  were  what  you  suppose,  its  instructions 
would  be  as  void  of  all  moral  worth  as  its  records  would 
be  full  of  silly  stories  and  extravagant  miracles.     But 


s 


r 


u 


THE   APOCRYPHAL  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


265 


the  early  Church  committed  no  such  folly  as  to  receive 
these  fictitious  accounts  as  of  equal  value  with  the  true. 
Far  as  we  can  trace  back  towards  the  very  earliest 
period,  the  Church  proclaimed,  by  the  voice  of  Irenajus, 
of  Oriiren,  and  of  a  host  of  others,  that  it  received  as 
canonical  and  authentic,  the  New  Testament,  substan- 
tially as  it  is  now  in  the  hands  of  every  Christian 
believer. 


266 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Old  Testament  PRoniECiES. 

We  have  spoken,  in  a  previous  chapter,  of  the  Jew- 
ish revelation  ;  and  the  subject  of  its  connection  with  the 
Christian,  particuhirly  as  regards  the  prophecies  of  the 
Old  Testament,  has  been,  to  some  extent,  presented  in 
our  "Manual"  (sections  20-31.)  A  few  remarks, 
however,  will  now  be  offered. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  worthy  of  observation,  that 
the  evidence  of  Christianity  is  but  little  embarrassed  by 
those  questions  which  have  from  time  to  time  arisen  with 
respect  to  the  Old  Testament.  Repeatedly  has  it  been 
thought  that  our  religion  was  in  danger  from  this 
source.  AVhen  Galileo  asserted  the  motion  of  the 
earth,  and  when  modern  geology  brought  its  proof  of 
the  existence  of  this  world  for  ages  before  the  date 
which  Christian  scholars  had  derived  from  the  exami- 
nation of  Scripture,  many  were  alarmed,  and  many 
were  indignant.  There  was  no  cause  for  indignation, 
for  science  must  be  free ;  there  was  no  cause  for  alarm, 
for  God's  truth  is  safe  in  his  keeping.  Indignation  and 
alarm  passed  away,  and  Christianity  stood  firm,  though 
its  teachers  were  obliged  to  remodel  some  of  their  opin- 
ions. Thus  it  will  be  still,  to  whatever  results  the  care- 
ful study  of  nature  and  of  Scripture  may  lead  the  man 
of  science  and  the  theologian. 


THE  OLD   TESTAMENT  PROPHECIES. 


267 


We  are  not  of  those,  therefore,  who  anticipate  any 
evil,  or  perceive  any  cause  of  angry  excitement,  from 
such  investigations  as  those  of  Bishop  Colenso.  Rather 
do  we  anticipate  —  and  to  our  own  mind  the  anticipa- 
tion is  already  in  part  fulfilled  —  that  such  free  inves- 
tin-ation  will  remove  difiiculties,  and  cause  the  truth 
of  divine  revelation  to  appear  more  gloriously  than  it 
ever  yet  has  done.  But  the  theme  is  too  vast  for  us 
to  enter  on,  and  belongs  rather  to  the  department  of 
scriptural  criticism  than  to  that  to  wliich  this  book  is 
devoted. 

We  have  now  to  speak  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Old 
Testament  which  found  their  fulfilment  in  the  New. 
We  shall  not  repeat  the  task,  already  pursued  in  the 
"Manual,"  of  enumerating  individual  prophecies.  In- 
deed, to  us  tlie  argument  seems  much  more  powerful, 
derived  from  the  collective  prophecy  of  the  Jewish 
nation.  That  nation's  whole  existence,  indeed,  before 
Christ,  was  prophetic,  as  its  existence  since  its  rejection 
of  him,  has  been  a  standing  testimony  to  the  truth  of  his 
divine  commission,  a  wonder  of  many  ages,  which  may 
at  length  find  its  fitting  close  in  some  magnificent  dis- 
play of  providential  mercy,  showing  that  "God  hath 
not  cast  away  his  people  which  he  foreknew." 

The  subject  which  particularly  claims  our  attention 
is  the  objection  brought  against  the  application  of  the 
prophecies  to  Christ,  on  the  ground  that  his  character 
and  office  were  different  from  those  which  had  been  pre- 
dicted. The  Jews,  we  are  told,  expected  a  temporal 
monarch;  Jesus  bore,  instead,  the  office  of  a  moral 
and  religious  teacher:  they  expected  a  triumphant 
prince ;  he  lived  in  poverty,  and  died  a  death  of  suffer- 
ing, and,  as  then  considered,  of  shame. 


268 


EFIDENCES   OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


It  was,  undoubtedly,  on  account  of  these  differences 
between  their  expectations  and  liis  fulfilment,  that  the 
Jewish  people   rejected  Jesus  while   living,   and   have 
persevered  in  that  rejection  the  rather  since^he  contrast 
was  completed  by  his  death.      Yet  it  is  obvious  that  in 
this  they  have  preferred  a  low  and  literal  interpretation 
of  the  prophecies  to  one  more  exalted.     What  would 
have  been  the  deliverance  of  Judca  from  the  llonum 
power,  compared  to  the  deliverance  of  the  world  from 
ignorance  and  sin  ?     ^Vhat  the  splendor  of  a  Jewish 
throne  to  the  empire  which  Jesus  has  for  centuries  exer- 
cised over  the  human  race?     That  the  nation  rejected 
their  Messiah,  because  he   came  in  a  character  so  far 
beyond  their  highest  anticipations,  shows  not  the  cor- 
rectness, but   the   inadequacy,  of   their  judgment.      It 
shows  also  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  glory  of   the 
Leader,  who  could  rise  to  thoughts  so  far  superior  to 
those  of  his  people.     ]Many  an  aspirant  has  attempted 
to  fulfil  the  Jewish  expectation  of  an  earthly  monarch; 
but  it  was  Jesus  alone  who  rose  above  that  expectation,' 
avoided  those  who  "  would  take  him  by  force  and  make 
him  a  king,"  and  deliberately  chose  the  crown  of  thorns 
in  preference  to  a  crown  of  gold,  and   the   kingdom  of 
truth  and  love  rather  than  one  of  earthly  splendor. 

The  prophets  had  a  very  imperfect  conception  of  the 
glories  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom  ;  but  the  divine  pur- 
poses, to  whose  accomplishment  they  looked  forward, 
were  truly  fulfilled  in  Christ  and  his  religion.  And  the 
fact  that  while  he  applied  their  predictions  to  himself, 
his  greatness  -was  of  a  nature  that  far  transcended  the 
most  exalted  visions  of  prophetic  inspiration,  constitutes 
to  our  mind  an  important  proof  of  the  divinity  of  his 


THE   OLD   TESTAMENT   PROPHECIES. 


269 


^ 


mission.  The  more  fully  it  can  be  shown  that  the 
prophets  had  no  conception  of  a  peaceful,  spiritual, 
self-denying  Messiah,  the  greater  the  glory  of  the  exalted 
soul  that  could  look  beyond  their  brilliant  presentations 
of  an  earthly  throne,  to  discern  and  to  claim  the  true, 
divinely  constituted  royalty. 

We  believe  that  the  prophets  were  inspired  in  a  man- 
ner different  from  other  writers,  however  great  or  good. 
That  difference  we  conceive  to  have  been  one,  not  of 
degree,  but  of  kind.  Had  it  been  of  degree  merely, 
Isaiah  might  have  given  us  sublimer  poems  than  Ho- 
mer :  as  it  is,  he  has  given  us  predictions,  which  have 
received  their  fulfilment  in  Christ.  We  distinguish, 
too,  between  the  inspiration  of  these  Hebrew  bards  and 
that  of  other  poets,  whose  anticipations  of  the  future 
have  sometimes  been  peculiarly  happy.  An  unknown 
Latin  author,  claiming  the  name  of  Seneca,  foretold  the 
discovery  of  America;  Bishop  Berkeley  foresaw  the 
greatness  of  the  United  States.  We  recognize  in  these 
the  great  thought,  the  happy  coincidence;  but  in  the 
Hebrew  prophets  we  recognize  the  especial  divine  com- 
munication. 

Was  that  communication  made  to  all  the  prophets, 
or  to  a  few,  or  to  one  only  among  them?  Dr.  Palfrey, 
in  his  "  Lectures  on  the  Jewish  Scriptures  and  Antiqui- 
ties "  (Lectures  XIX  and  XXXIV.) ,  and  his  "  Relation 
between  Judaism  and  Christianity,"  restricts  the  divine 
messan-e  in  the  Old  Testament  times  to  its  earliest  por- 
tion,  believing  that  the  idea  of  the  Messiah  was  given 
to  the  world  chiefly  in  those  words  of  Moses  (Deut. 
xviii.  15),  "The  Lord  thy  God  will  raise  up  unto  thee 
a  prophet  from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like 


I 


■i^ 


270 


EVIDENCES   OP   CHRISTIANITY. 


unto  me  :  unto  him  ye  shall  hearken."  The  later  Mes- 
sianic predictions  he  conceives  to  have  been  echoes  of 
this.  But  the  announcement  in  Deuteronomy  appears 
too  indefinite  to  be  thus  singled  out ;  nor  do  we  know 
any  other  that  can  claim  such  exclusive  honor.  It  may 
be  that  some  of  the  long  line  of  prophets  received  the 
great  thought  from  those  who  went  before  them ;  but, 
until  some  mode  of  distinguishing  between  direct  and 
secondary  prophecies  is  suggested,  we  can  but  consider 
all  as  dictated  by  the  same  inspiration. 

But  that  inspiration  did  not  make  the  prophets  ac- 
quainted with  all  truth ;  they,  were  not  infallible.  If 
one  of  them  had  been,  the  world  would  have  needed  no 
future  guide.  If  Isaiah  had  foreseen  in  its  fulness 
the  spiritual  teaching  of  Jesus,  Isaiah  miglit  have  re- 
vealed it,  and  the  coming  of  Jesus  have  been  forestalled. 
The  prophets  saw  but  in  part  —  God  alone  is  omniscient. 

What  did  they  see  ?  We  will  use  that  metaphor  of 
eight ;  for  it  is  the  one  which  the  proplicts  themselves 
use  to  express  the  method  in  which  the  Divine  purposes 
were  made  known  to  them.  We  arc  told  of  "the  vision 
of  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz,  which  he  saw  concerning 
Judah  and  Jerusalem."  We  may  find  the  meta[)hor  of 
sight  a  better  guide  than  that  of  breath,  implied  in  the 
word  "inspiration." 

In  our  common,  natural  vision,  the  beholder  has  be- 
fore hhn  an  object,  of  which  he  sees  some  i>arts  more 
clearly  than  others.  The  dilFerent  parts  are  not  always 
seen  in  their  right  proportions.  If  it  be  a  prospect, 
prominent  parts  are  at  once  recognized,  while  interven- 
ing spaces  are  less  subject,  to  observation.  Nor  can 
distances  be  accurately  determined.     Objects  which  lie 


J 


THE   OLD   TESTAMENT  PROPHECIES. 


271 


in  the  same  line  of  vision  may  naturally  be  supposed 
much  nearer  to  each  other  than  they  really  are.  Es- 
pecially if  the  remotest  object  seen  be  of  great  dimen- 
sions, as  a  mountain,  arresting  the  attention,  and 
shutting  out  all  beyond,  its  proportions  may  be  mis- 
taken, and  it  may  be  supposed  both  nearer  and  smaller 
than  it  actually  is. 

Thus  it  was  with  the  "  vision  "  granted  to  the  proph- 
ets. From  time  to  time,  their  eyes  were  open  to  discern 
the  future.  They  saw  there  objects  relating  to  the 
present  interests  of  their  own  country  and  of  others ; 
and  beyond,  they  saw  the  waving  fields,  the  towering 
cities,  the  majestic  temples,  of  a  period  of  civilization, 
peace,  and  happiness,  far  surpassing  anything  that 
they  had  known.  "The  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house, 
established  on  the  top  of  the  mountains,"  closed  the 
view  ;  and  there,  it  seemed,  they  might  discern,  far  off, 
a  majestic  figure,  of  colossal  proportions,  that  seemed 
to  preside  over  all  below,  while  the  Divine  glory  hovered 
above  his  head.  God's  wisdom  and  goodness  displayed 
to  them  the  scene ;  their  own  minds  were  to  interpret  it. 
What  name  should  they  give  to  that  happy  country  but 
that  of  their  own  Israel  ?  What  should  that  holy  city 
be  but  their  own  Jerusalem?  And  that  glorious  per- 
sonage whom  they  owned  as  God's  Anointed,  God's 
Messiah,  —  who  should  he  be  but  the  king,  the  heir 
of  the  old  royal  line,  who  should,  at  that  predestined 
time,  be  on  the  throne?  What  wonder  if,  while  the 
eye  failed  to  measure  distances  with  correctness,  each 
prophet  thought  that  the  Messiah  before  him  was  either 
the  prince  he  served,  or  the  heir  that  had  just  been 
born  ?  if  the  writer  of  the  seventy-second  Psalm  iden- 


i 


1 


272 


EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIiNITY. 


THE  OLD   TESTAMENT   PROPHECIES. 


273 


tified  him  with  Solomon,  and  Isaiah  (chap,  ix.)  with 
the  young  Hezekiah  ? 

We  believe,  then,  that  the  vision  of  the  prophets  was 
not  only  subjective,  but  objective,  in  the  general  fore- 
sight of  a  great  and  hoaven-sent  Deliverer.  That  they 
called  him  king  when  they  miglit  have  called  him 
prophet  or  sage,  detracts  but  little  from  this  foresight ; 
for  who  but  a  king,  could  they  suppose,  would  exercise 
such  power,  and  confer  such  blessing?  We  may  ques- 
tion, too,  whether  either  of  these  titles  would  have  fitted 
the  actual  position  of  Jesus  Christ  as  well  as  that  which 
was  employed.  "  Prophet "  would  have  designated  him 
as  a  member  of  the  old  order,  not  the  founder  and  pre- 
siding spirit  of  a  new ;  and  "  sage  "  would  have  been 
the  title  of  a  self-constituted  teacher,  not  of  one  sent 
by  God.  That  the  demand  of  Jesus  for  the  reverence 
and  obedience  of  mankind  was,  in  many  respects,  a 
personal  claim,  has  been  so  well  illustrated  in  the  recent 
sujTjrestive  volume,  "  Ecce  Homo,"  and  is  a  fact  so  famil- 
iar  to  every  believer's  heart,  that  we  need  linger  no 
more  on  the  task  of  excusing  the  prophets  for  the  as- 
sertion of  his  kingly  dignity. 

And  there  were  some  to  whom  a  nearer  vision  was 
granted.  We  will  not  enter  into  the  criticism  of  the 
famous  passage,  Isa.  lii.,  liii.  ;  but  one  thing  is  clear  — 
that,  whether  from  this  passage  or  from  others,  some  of 
the  Jews  had  derived  the  idea  of  a  suffering  Messiah. 
And  this  idea  in  them  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  it  was 
contrary  to  their  general  train  of  thought,  their  expec- 
tations and  hopes,  and  as  they  resorted  to  a  far-sought 
supposition  to  explain  it.  Thus  says  Strauss  (Life  of 
Jesus,  Part  UI.,  Chap.  I.,  §  112)  :— • 


"  Jewish  writings  are  by  no  means  destitute  of  pas- 
sages in  which  it  is  distinctly  asserted  that  a  jMessiah 
would  perish  in  a  violent  manner ;  but  these  passages 
relate,  not  to  the  proper  Messiah,  the  offspring  of  David, 
but  to  another,  from  among  the  posterity  of  Joseph  and 
Ephraim,  who  was  appointed  to  hold  a  subordinate  posi- 
tion in  relation  to  the  former." 

The  Jewish  nation,  then,  guided  by  its  prophets,  not 
only  for  ages  looked  forward  to  an  exalted  and  divinely 
commissioned  Leader,  who  should  establish  a  universal 
and  everlasting  dominion,  but  it  had  received  the  im- 
pression from  the  same  ancient  prophets,  that  this  tri- 
umph was   to  be  accompanied  by  suffering  and  death. 
Confused  by  this  apparent  inconsistency,  they  strove  to 
reconcile  it  by  supposing  two  divine  messengers,  one 
bearing  the  character  of  a  conqueror,  the  other  that  of 
a  victim.     At  length  One  appeared  in  whom  both  these 
anticipations  were  fulfilled,  and  in  a  far  loftier,  more 
spiritual  manner,  than  either  the  nation  or  the  prophets 
themselves  had  imagined.     When  the  young  Teacher 
of  Nazareth  declared  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  the  world  threatened  the  natural  reward  of  insane 
fanaticism  —  utter  and   contemptible  failure;    and  the 
world  did  what  it  could  to  accomplish  its  threat,  for  it 
crucified  him.    But,  notwithstanding  this,  the  prophecy 
of  the  old  Jewish  Church  has  been  fulfilled.     That  cru- 
cified INIessiah  has  established  a   dominion  which  has 
lasted  eighteen  hundred  years,  has  conquered  half  the 
world,  and  is  on  its  course  of  conquest  still.     Thus  do 
the  prophecy  and  its  fulfilment  match  into  and  prove 
each  other.      Separate  them,  and  each  part  appears  as 
a  delusion.     If  Jesus  did  not  fulfil  the  Messianic  proph- 

18 


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274 


EVIDENCES  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


ecies,  those  prophecies  were  idle  dreams.  If  the  proph- 
ecies did  not  relate  to  Jesus,  his  whole  ministry  was 
founded  on  mistaken  presumption.  But  if  a  sway 
extending  over  the  world  is  wider  than  one  over  Pales- 
tine, and  if  a  reign  over  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men  for 
centuries  is  as  worthy  the  name  of  kingdom  as  the  pomp 
of  an  earthly  prince,  then  that  which  Jesus  founded  was 
a  true  sovereignty,  and  he  is  the  Messiah,  the  Heaven- 
anointed  King. 


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